An Underwater Tale
by XoXo-Contest3Ribbon-XoXo
Summary: Misty and the gang head to Cerulean City, but what happens when her sisters get a brilliant idea for a new show and they're the main cast, will this play help tell each other how they really feel? or is it all just for show? MxD,AxM,DxP,OCxBrendan
1. An Idea

**Okay, my second story, there are a lot of main characters, Ash, Misty, May, Drew, Paul, Dawn, Kym, and Brendan, but it fits with the story. So yeah… I hope y'all like it**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon **

"Are we there yet?" asks a raven haired boy with a small yellow rodent on his head.

"No" says a red-head beside him, with an Azurill in her hands.

"What about now?" the boy asks again.

"No, Ash, we're not in Cerulean City yet!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh…so what about now Mist?"

"For the last time Ash! We're-"

"Here!" says a girl with midnight blue hair, her name was Dawn, beside her was a serious looking boy with dark lavender hair and onyx eyes, he was Paul.

"Finally" Paul says while rolling his eyes.

"Well I don't know if you noticed but traveling from Sinnoh to Kanto doesn't take like three seconds" says Dawn with irritation in her voice.

Paul just shrugs and continues to walk up the path way to the Cerulean City Gym.

"I can't wait till we get there, it's been forever since I've been in a swimming pool!" A brunette with sapphire eyes says while clasping her hands together

"Do you even know how to swim May?" A boy with green hair and eyes says arrogantly.

"Pssh, of course she does Drew…you do know how to swim right?" Asks another girl with black hair tied up in a high ponytail and a Ninetales by her side.

"Of course I do!" May says while crossing her arms.

"Hard to believe…" Drew says with his signature smirk.

"Ugh, you're so…UGH!" May cries in frustration.

**Paul POV**

"Alright guys, chill and welcome to the Cerulean City Gym" Misty says while pointing to the giant tent-like building in front of us.

"It's been a long time since I've been here" Kym says while giving Misty a small smile. (She battled Misty for the Cascade Badge)

"Well I've never been here" Dawn says, "come on lets go inside"

Sometimes I wonder why that girl is always so…preppy, okay well maybe _preppy_ isn't the right word but she's always so cheerful…it's kinda cute…

We enter through the giant glass doors and see a lobby with a blue-haired girl sitting at a desk. She looks up at us and her face gets all…happy.

"Misty! How are you? It's been like forever since you've been here, we've lost so may badges while you were gone and you wouldn't believe how our shows have come to a stop, like we haven't been able to come up with a new show in like forever! Not to mention that the Pokemon are completely bored of training with each other and…"

Wow, can that girl talk, I'm guessing she's one of Misty's sisters, funny how they're all preppy and annoying and Misty is just annoying. (Paul isn't a very social guy, whatever he says he doesn't really mean, especially when he's talking about Dawn…:D)

"Okay, did anyone catch what she just said" Kym says skeptically.

"Uh, No" May says.

"Wait, you lost how many badges? And what do you mean you haven't performed a show in forever? And where are Daisy and Lily?" Misty says while trying to keep her cool.

"Oh they're in the Gym practicing"

**In the Gym/Normal POV**

"Alright, Gyrados, use like Hydro Pump!" Daisy orders.

"Dewgong dodge!" commands Lily.

"Lily! Daisy!"

Both girls look at each other and sigh a sigh of relief.

"Misty!" they both say.

"We're like so glad you're here-"

"We need help-"

"No kidding" Drew says.

"Okay, what do you need help with?" Misty says.

"Training the Pokemon-"

"Thinking of a new show idea-"

"Oh, hello Misty's friends" waves Lily.

"Don't tell me, Dawn, Dawn's boyfriend Paul, Drew, Drew's girlfriend May, Kym and her boyfriend Brendan, and your boyfriend Ash" Daisy says while pointing to each person.

Misty slaps her fore-head while everyone is just standing there blushing like crazy.

"Ahem, um, I can help with training the Pokemon" Kym says as she steps foreword and puts her hand on Misty's shoulder.

"Me too" Paul says.

"Me three" Dawn says while walking up to the other side of Misty.

"Pika!" Pikachu says while pulling Ash foreword.

"Okay, I guess Pikachu and I will help too" Ash says.

"Great, now Daisy, how long has it been since you last performed a show?" Misty asks.

"Um…like a month or two, I don't remember"

Misty sweat-drops.

"Right…"

"I can help you think of a new idea" May says cheerfully.

"I guess I can help too, what about you Drew?" Brendan asks.

"Sure, why not, there's nothing else to do" with that said he shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, great, thank you guys so much, I swear I can't leave you guys alone for 2 months"

Misty, May, Drew, and Brendan head towards the "bleachers"(or whatever they're called) with Violet while Kym, Ash, Dawn, and Paul head towards the giant pool. **(A/N: Ash is gonna have his Sinnoh team) **

**Dawn POV**

We walk over to the pool and I see a Seadra, Gyrados, Dewgong, Goldeen, Seaking, Shelder, Cloyster, Staryu, and a Starmie.

"Wow, look at all the Pokemon, I've never seen any of them before!"

Well it's true, I live in Sinnoh and there aren't very many Kanto Pokemon.

"Okay, let's like, get started" Lily says as she walks over to the end of the pool.

"I'll battle you" Kym says as she and her Ninetales walk over to the opposite side.

"Me too" Paul says while walking beside Kym.

Lily and Daisy are parallel from them.

This is so cool. Sure I've seen Gym battles before but not up close and personal! I look around the Gym and my eyes eventually drift onto Paul. Why do I have to like him?

'_He doesn't even like me'_

I sigh as I sit down and watch the battle.

**Normal POV/With Dawn, Paul, Kym, and Ash**

"Alright, Seaking I chose you!" Daisy shouted.

"And, I chose you Dewgong!" Lily said.

"Seaking, sea!"

"Dewgong!"

"Torterra, I chose you" Paul casually threw the Pokeball and our came a massive turtle like grass pokemon.

"Gabite Go!"

"Wow, a Gabite!"

Knowing Ash, he takes out his Pokedex and looks Gabite up.

'_Gabite, the Cave Pokemon, a powerful dragon pokemon, it is said that the medicine from it's scales can cure any disease' _

"Cool" Dawn says as she looks at the Pokedex then at Gabite.

"What you've never seen a Gabite before? Figures" Paul says as he rolls his eyes.

**Ash POV**

Here we go again…they would do this all the time in Sinnoh

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Dawn asks as she stomps her way over to Paul.

"Nothing, I just figured that you wouldn't know that much about Pokemon" he says casually.

"Well excuse me mister…"

You know, they really remind me of May and Drew…

"So how long is this going to take?" Kym asks as she walks up to me with Gabite and Ninetales following her.

"5…4…3…2…1"

"FINE!!" Dawn turns and stomps her way back over to the benches and plops herself down.

Kym looks and me and laughs then heads towards the field.

I just stare at Dawn, if she really likes him that much then she might wanna do something.

"What?" she asks.

"Oh, nothing"

**Brendan POV/With Brendan. Misty, May, Drew, and Violet**

From what I can see from up here, Dawn got mad at Paul, Paul said something rude, Dawn stormed back over to the bench, and their battle is about to begin.

"Dude, stop staring at Kym and pay attention" Drew says while nudging on the arm.

I feel my cheeks heat up as I turn and look at Drew.

"Well, I would say the same for you but May's up here"

Now it's his turn to blush, luckily for him May didn't hear.

"…and that's all they ideas we had so far" Violet finished.

"Okay, um well that idea would work if you had more people-" Misty adds.

"and a better plot" May says.

"Yeah, I like the whole romance thing but you're going…to…need"

**Normal POV**

Misty slows down and notices a mischievous grin on her older sister's face. Her eyes widened in shock when she understood the point.

"No, no…no way Violet no!" Misty waves her hands frantically in front of her.

"Oh, yes" Violet says with a grin stretched across her face.

This could not end well…

**Done, sorry for the big delay. I got help up. And there isn't much shippyness in this chapter but don't worry, there will be. The next chapter should be up in a week or so. Thanks for reading. Review :)**


	2. Casting

**I know what you're thinking, WOW an update, well I wasn't so proud of this story so I was thinking about deleting it but I decided not to and continue it, but enough excuses… **

**Chapter 2**

"You want us to do what now?" Kym asks skeptically as she raises an eyebrow, hands on hips.

"It's just like, a little show, besides it'll be fun" Daisy says.

"Yeah, ask Misty when she did our 'Misty Mermaid' play" Violet says.

"I don't remember that" Ash says to himself.

"Oh yeah that play where Misty wore that little Mermaid costume!" Lily says.

"That was the most revealing costume I've ever worn!" Misty shouts.

"Oh, now I remember!" Ash shouts.

Everyone turns their heads toward Ash, embarrassed he just sits back down, blushing.

"Continue" he mumbles.

"Okay, this is what we were thinking of-"Daisy starts.

"-there are these beautiful mermaids-" Lily continues.

"-one of which is you Misty, of course-" Violet says.

"-and some evil pirates-"

"-their mission is to hunt down a mermaid and have them grant their wish-"

"-and take them to all the water Pokemon you could ever think of-"

"-but the plans are interrupted when a pirate falls in love with like, a mermaid-"

**Misty POV**

I just bet that Daisy is gonna make me the lead mermaid. If she can do it once, she can do it again. I just hope she doesn't make Ash the lead pirate, then again, that wouldn't be so bad…right?

"How romantic!" Dawn gushes.

"How stupid" Paul says with a 'what the heck' look on his face.

Yeah, Paul was never really into that whole romantic gushy stuff, unless it involves Dawn of course.

"Hmph, you're no fun" Dawn says as she crosses her arms.

"Ha, you're too much fun" he says as he turns and faces her.

If I were Dawn, I would've whacked Paul upside the head already.

"I'll take that as a compliment" Dawn says as she does the same.

"Good cause you should!" Paul states, his face inches from hers, one false move would send them crashing into each other.

I look at Dawn and her face is pink on both cheeks, I'm guessing that was Paul's way of being "romantic".

"Well the leads in this show are gonna have to be comfortable with each other" states Daisy.

"Why?" May asks.

"Cause there's going to a kiss, duh" Lily says.

"You didn't like expect us to make like, a romantic underwater play with out a kiss did you?" Violet says.

"Actually I was hoping you would" Misty says.

"Oh come on Misty it won't be so bad" I say, "it's sounds kinda fun"

"Yes, wearing freaky costumes underwater where we you know can't breathe, is definitely the definition of 'fun'" Drew says.

**Normal POV**

May pouts as she crosses her ams and turns away from Drew, who naturally has a smirk glued to his lips. The lips that so longingly wanted to make contact with May's…But Drew would never admit it of course.

"Okay so we were thinking about having like, four pirates and four mermaids" Lily states.

"Can I just do costumes or something?" Kym asks.

"Then we'd have like an uneven amount of pirates and mermaids" Daisy says.

"Yeah, and then who would Brendan fall in love with?" Violet says.

"What?" Kym shouts, a clear blush on her cheeks.

"In the play, stupid" Paul says.

"I could do costumes too" Brendan volunteers **(trying to incorporate some of Ruby's (manga) personalities in Brendan) **

"No way, if we have to be in this play, then you will too" Misty says.

"Okay" Daisy says.

"What?!?" Misty shouts.

"Well, we don't like have any costumes" Lily says.

"Why, what happened to the ones we always use?" Misty says, just knowing that her three idiot sisters screwed something up while she was gone.

"Well…" Violet starts while pointing her to fingers together.

**Flashback**

"_Ugh, this closet is like so dirty" Lily says, while rummaging through the props closet, which happened to be in the same room as the battle field, which in this case was a pool. A pool with a giant Gyrados in it, trying to learn the move Flamethrower. _

"_Do we need these costumes?" Daisy shouts, examining the a mermaid costume and several pirate ones. _

"_I don't know bring them out" Violet shouts back. _

"_Gyrados, use like Flamethrower" Lily commands._

"_Gyra!!!" It takes a deep breath and lets out…a big puff of smoke._

"_Gyra, dos!" it says sadly. _

"_Like, its okay, I know you can do, give it one more try" Lily says. _

"_Gyra- DOS!!" Out comes a giant stream of flames aiming directly for Daisy._

"_Ahhh!!" Daisy drops the costumes and runs. The costumes were now on the floor burnt to a crisp. _

**End Flashback**

"So that's why you sent me Gyrados" Misty says.

"Yeah well like, because of Gyrados we don't have any costumes" Daisy states, "Which is why we need Kym and Brendan to make some, unless you guys want to swim in your bathing suits"

"Which would like totally make us look bad" Lily says.

"I can see it now, The Sensational Sisters: Worst Costumes Ever" Violet says dramatically.

"Fine" Misty says in defeat.

"Alright, we have a bunch of materials and stuff in the upstairs closet, so you guys can like go check it out" Violet says, motioning them to go.

"Kay" Kym says, as she grabs Brendan's hand and begins to head into the upstairs part of the Cerulean Gym.

"As for you guys, I have the perfect ideas" Daisy says with a sly smile on her lips.

Everyone sweat drops, bracing themselves for the "brilliant" ideas that Daisy has.

**Upstairs Closet**

"Cough, cough, how long has it been since they've actually used this stuff?" Brendan asks while swatting the dust away from his face.

"I'm guessing about six, seven years" Kym says as she enters the giant walk-in-closet.

"Nine" Ninetales nods in agreement.

They continue to search the closet for any props or accessories for the play.

"Aww, how cute" Kym says as walks up to a shelf of water Pokemon plusies.

Brendan walks up next to her and looks at them.

"A Horsea, Dewgong, Staru, Goldeen, Marill, Barboach, and a Finneon" He says.

"Hey look what I found" Kym says as she holds up about 3 tiaras, a bunch of cloth, and a jar of pearls and flowers.

"Great" He says. Kym dumps them all into a nearby box.

"Let's go" Brendan says.

"Wait, where did Ninetales go?"

They both look around and don't see a fire Pokemon anywhere.

"Great" Kym says as she blows a strand of hair out of her face.

"Ninetales? Where are you?" Kym shouts into the closet. She begins to walk off when she trips over a Magikarp wind up toy. Naturally she grabs onto something to help her balance, but that 'thing' she grabbed onto, fell with her, better yet, on top of her.

"Wha-?" Brendan says, as he now looks at the position he's in. His arms on each side of Kym, and his legs intertwined with hers.

"Um…" He says, a clear blush on his face.

"Sorry" Kym says, blushing as well. Now you probably would've expected them to have gotten up by now, but they didn't. Somehow they couldn't, or didn't want to…

"We should..." Kym starts.

"Yeah"

"I though you guys were getting materials for our costumes" says a voice from the door.

They look up and sees Paul standing there with his arms crossed, next to him is a giggling blue haired girl and a emerald haired boy standing there as well, hands in his pockets and a smirk on his lips.

"Uh, we were…" Brendan says while getting off of Kym and extending an arm to help her up.

"But then we had to look for-"

"Save the excuses, let's just go" Drew says while motioning them to leave.

They grab the props and head out, Ninetales following.

Drew stares at Kym with smirk.

"You know-" He begins.

"Save it" Kym says as he continues to walk.

**Well there' chapter two. I'm not very proud of this chapter. But I promise that the next ones will be better. I know it took forever. But I just wanted to say thanks to all of those who reviewed this story. Next chapter will be rehearsals, costume fitting, and stuff like that. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.**

**Preview: **

"All this time has made me realize, that…that"

"What is it?"

"I love you, more than anything in the world"

The two lean in to kiss when…

**contest3ribbon **


	3. Practice Makes Perfect

**OMG, is this…an update??? -GASP-**

**I know, I apologize for making you guys wait so long, it's been like a month, ever since I last updated, well not to worry, cause finally, here's chapter 3**

**Rehearsals in Progress **

It was a nice sunny day in Cerulean City, everyone was outside, enjoying the beach and the sights with their Pokemon, everyone that is, except for 8 unlucky teenagers, holed up in the Cerulean City Gym.

"Give me the treasure, or else" Drew says, with no enthusiasm at all. He takes his sword and points it at May's chest.

"Oh, sweet Ho-oh, Drew, like put some more feeling into it!" Violet shouts.

Both May and Drew turn towards the fuming blue-headed sister. May swam over to the edge and Drew hoisted himself up, his green and black swim trunks showing. **(A/N: They were practicing in the pool)**

May couldn't help but stare at his perfectly fit and toned chest. She could almost feel herself drooling…before she stopped herself and quickly looked away. Little did she know that Drew was eying her as well. Her perfect slim, hourglass figure was much to alluring for Drew to resist.

'_If only I could just wrap my arm around…' _

Drew thought, before snapping back to reality. He blushes and turns his attention toward Violet.

Misty, Ash, Dawn, and Paul are sitting in the sidelines, Misty playing with her Azurill, Ash, eating a bag of potato chips, and Dawn and Paul were just sitting there. Paul casually crosses his arms behind his head, while Dawn sits criss-crossed, with a small penguin Pokemon in her lap.

"Jeez" Dawn says, while petting her Piplup.

"Piplup! Pip!" It exclaims.

"I know Piplup, we're almost done" Dawn says.

"Alright, from the top, and action!" Daisy yells.

Drew sighs, while May rolls her eyes, and they both jump back into the pool.

"Give me the treasure or else" Drew says, with a little more feeling, but then again what did you expect, it was Drew after all…

"I'll never tell and you can't make me" May shouts back.

"Oh yeah? fine!" Drew snarls, he grabs a Pokeball from his pocket and enlarges it.

"Masquerein Go!"

"Masquerein, Mas!" The hovering bug Pokemon exclaims. May stares at the hovering bug Pokemon trying to remember what to do next.

"Send out your Pokemon" Lily whispers.

"Oh right" May says, "I mean…Go Squirtle!"

May grabs a pokeball from the side of the pool and clicks the middle, and the red and white device enlarges and opens releasing a baby turtle Pokemon.

"Squirtle, squirt" The baby Pokemon looks around and immediately launches a Bubble attack right in Drew's face, causing him to splash his arms drenching May in the process.

"Hey!" May shouts, squirting water out of her mouth, Drew sends a glare towards May.

"Way to go May can't even control your Pokemon" Drew says, as he flicks his wet bangs from his face, which doesn't look nearly as cute as it does when it's dry, well in May's opinion.

"Well excuse me Drew, I don't blame Squirtle for squirting you in the face!" May says, as she splashes Drew with her arms after childishly sticking out her tongue.

"Real mature May, real mature" Drew says sarcastically.

"Well sorry mister I'm-so-great-with-my-perfect-little-attitude-" May starts.

"Well at least I'm not a little-immature-uncoordinated-" Drew begins.

"Cut!" Daisy yells through the megaphone **(A/N: Sorry don't know what those things that make your voice louder that directors use is called, if you know, feel free to let me know) **

"The show is in 2 weeks and we like haven't got anything done, let's take a quick break" Daisy shouts, "and where are the costumes?!?"

She begins to pace back and forth while Violet and Lily try and calm their older sister down.

"Your sister scares me sometimes" Dawn says.

"Yeah, join the club" Misty says.

**Dawn POV**

May and Drew climbed out of the pool, backs turned towards each other. I swear they argue over the silliest things.

Then a pink haired woman walks over to us, carrying a clipboard and a pink pen with a Clampearl on top.

"Okay, so what like Pokemon are you guys going to use, mermaids have to have water Pokemon, and pirates have to have one water Pokemon and another type, preferably one that doesn't mind being in the water, it makes them seem more, like dangerous"

"So you all have like water Pokemon right?" Violet asks.

Me, Misty, and May all nod a 'yes', while Ash, Drew, and Paul all nod a 'no'.

"Well I do, just not on me, and it would take a while for them to get here, but then again I could just ask Professor Oak to just send them to me becuase you know the play is in two weeks, but then-" Ash begins to ramble.

"Um, it's okay Ash, we can't afford to lose any practice time. Well Misty do you think you can like, lend them your Pokemon?" Daisy asks, "Preferably Gyrados"

"Gyrados? No…no way" Misty says as he crosses her arms.

"Well what Pokemon are you going to use?" May asks Misty, her cute baby Squirtle in her arms.

"Um, Azurill and Corsola, or maybe Starmie, and Horsea…or Politoad" Misty says, while releasing all of them into the pool.

Every sweat-drops while Daisy just sighs.

"Well that leaves like Psyduck"

"No way am I talking that lame psychic Pokemon" Paul harshly says.

"My Psyduck is not lame!" Misty shouts while trying to stick up for her Pokemon. Then as if on cue a red light emerges from her bag and out pops a yellow duck Pokemon.

"Psyduck?" It says, then it jumps into the pool along with the other Pokemon, not before realizing that…it couldn't swim.

"Psy yi yi yi yi!"

Misty sighs and grabs Psyduck's Pokeball, "Return" Misty says blankly.

"Enough said" Paul says. He's such a jerk sometimes, no scratch that all the time. The day when Paul becomes nice, is when the world is ending.

But sometimes I wish he would just be nice…to me at least…Oh well, I'll give it some time.

I take off my black Capri sleeve jacket and my skirt, revealing a pink bikini swim suit, with a heart in the corner. Then I jump in with the rest of the Pokemon.

**Normal POV**

As Dawn jumps in the pool, along with May, who eventually got tired of standing in the cold, Paul couldn't help but trace his eyes over to the blue-haired girl. He felt a smirk invade his lips, something about that girl always made him…excited on the inside. If you can classify Paul under that category.

"Alright then we're short Pokemon" Daisy says.

"Don't Kym and Brendan have a couple of water Pokemon?" May asks.

"Oh yeah, they do" Misty says.

"Well like that's great, now…where the heck are they?!?" Daisy shouts.

Everyone gives each other looks, mostly because they had no idea where in the gym those two were.

"Well, Lily go find them" Daisy orders, "Alright let's take it from the scene where Ash admits that he loves Misty" Daisy says, earning a blush from Ash, and chuckles from Drew and Paul.

"At least you don't have to act" Drew snorts before jumping into the pool. Followed by Ash, Misty, and Paul.

"Alright Violet, hit the spotlights!" Daisy shouts, "and action!"

"Alright…um…Listen, I really don't want the treasure" Ash says.

"What, why not?" Misty asks.

"Well, to be honest with you going after the treasure has made me realize something…" Ash blushed, as he knew what he had to say next, after all this was the only part in the entire play he memorized.

"Yes…?" Misty asks, scooting, or in this case swimming closer and closer, a blush forming on her cheeks as well.

"I-I love you Misty, more than anything in the world" Ash finally blurts out.

Daisy puts a hand over her heart, showing how touching this scene was.

Ash leans over, and Misty brings herself close. He puts a hand up to caress her cheek, then puts his other hand on her waist, Misty subconsciously wraps her arms around his neck intensifying the moment. They lean in, slowly, although it was tempting to just crash into each other and get the scene on with. Closer and closer, an inch away, Dawn and May squealing in the background…then…

"Why do you want my Milotic?" a voice says from the door, there is Brendan holding two Pokeballs and Kym holding one, and Lily talking to them.

Misty and Ash, hastily pull away, while Daisy just gaps her mouth.

"Lily!" She shouts.

"What?"

"You couldn't have brought them here a couple seconds later, we were right in the middle of a scene!" Daisy shouts.

As the two sisters continue to bicker, Ash and Misty stand at least 5 feet away from each other blushing, Paul and Drew nodding their heads, while May and Dawn are still giggling with excitement.

Ash then gets out of the pool and whispers in Kym's ear

"You couldn't have come a few seconds later?"

Kym gets the point and giggles along with May and Dawn. While Brendan just receives a glare form a grumbling Misty.

"We almost had it, just another inch…"

Brendan just stands there blankly, completely oblivious to what had just happened.

"What?"

Everyone just rolls their eyes.

**Well wasn't that just touching :D, way to go Brendan…lol…anyways sorry if the ending seemed rushed, I'm still working on it. Thank you: **

**Lunarshade29**

**Kefka VI**

**Midnight Roselia**

**Blazegirl6**

**X-Azngrlelizabeth-X**

**xxDrewxXxMay4ever**

**The biggest ikarishipping Fan**

**Ellipsis The Eevee**

**HarvestGirl10**

**For all the review, they mean a lot :D please R&R, I take constructice critisizm, and I'll try to update again as soon as possible.**

**XoXo Contest3ribbon **


	4. Smile for the Camera

**Wow, an update…it's a miracle. I know I said that I was going to re-write this story, but then I decided not to…I'm just going to be writing better chapters form now on :D Thank you all who have reviewed :) This story is now officially not a HIATUS anymore :D Oh and Fanny if ur reading this…HAPPY B-DAY!! xD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, of course**

"Wow, I like it, it's like actually pretty cute" Says the oldest of the Sensational Sisters as she twirls a blonde lock of her hair in her fingers. She eyes the orange-haired gym leader; two older teens appear from the side of her, a blue haired girl jotting down notes and another holding a camera, with her pink hair falling on her shoulders

"It's okay" the girl sighs contently. Her long carrot-colored hair running down her back, a small and elegant tiara resides on top of her head, along with a small veil, the pearls reflecting in the light, and a small Starmie shaped jewel in the middle. Covering her upper part is a traditional mermaid top, in coral pink, a long pearl necklace with a seashell charm on the end. Covering the bottom part of the girl is a long seafoam green…tail. It was clearly designed to hug the curves of her hips, then at the bottom it flares out, forming the fins. Sparkles draped over the whole ensemble, and of course, Misty's classic star on the rim of the tail. After taking a look in the mirror, Misty runs her hands over the side of her body, she had never been so proud of it, what with always having three older, prettier, taller, and _curvier_ sisters, she eventually stopped trying, but by the looks of it, she wasn't doing so bad herself. A smile had formed on her lips.

"Okay, I changed my mind, Kym this is an awesome costume!" Misty says as she runs over to the raven haired girl, holding a sketchpad in her hand and a measuring tape around her neck.

"Why thank you, it's _tres chic, qui_?" Kym asks with a smile on her face. Misty smiles, and takes another look at herself in the mirror.

"Wait'll Ash sees you in this" Misty blushes, and looks back at the girl, who now has a very sly smile on her face. It was almost as if she had designed this costume just for that purpose alone, instead of for the play.

"Well, I'm going to go check on May and Dawn, I'll be back" With a wink, Kym disappeared behind the curtains of the dressing room. If she liked her costume, she could just imagine what Dawn's and May's looked like. Misty smiled before turning to her pink-haired sister.

"What's the camera for Lily?" Misty asks as she begins to adjust her costume, and taking a few more glances in the mirror.

"Well, we were going to make a poster for this play, apparently Daisy had told, like some people about it, and now they're like really excited, so we figured that we should spread the word" Lily says, as she takes a few shots of Misty. Misty laughs and rolls her eyes, she was surprised that they didn't use up all the film taking pictures of themselves.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Kym peers through another curtain, she instantly smiles when she sees a blue haired girl smiling at her image in the mirror. Her hair let out, and curled, a little past her shoulders, and her regular yellow clips were replaced by two small pink seashells. Another classic mermaid top, but in navy blue, clasped onto her upper body. Then for her "tail" was a long, flared out pink skirt, and on the rim, was a small blue heart. On her left wrist, was a multi-colored seashell bracelet.

"So what'd ya think?" Kym asks as she steps up next to Dawn and smiles at her creation. Dawn giggles, before twirling around, letting the layers of her "tail" flow, and sparkle.

"I love it, it's so cute!" Dawn cries, a smile on her face, "never thought that being a mermaid could be so…" Dawn stops and taps her finger onto her lightly colored peach lips, trying to think of the word.

"So…what? Cute? Fashionable?" Kym says excitedly as she clasps her hands together, fondling over her creation.

"Nope, pink!" Dawn says in an excited manner. Kym snapped out of her daze and rolled her eyes at the blue haired girl, yup, if Dawn were a color, she would definitely be pink.

Her outfit pretty much brought that out in her.

"Wonder what Misty's costume looks like?" Dawn says as she walks away from the mirror and over to Kym. Kym smiles and opens the curtain for Dawn.

"Go check it out, she's in the other room, but just a heads up, Lily has a camera, so don't be surprised if you see a sudden flash of bright light" Kym says jokingly, as she motions Dawn towards Misty's dressing room.

"Gotcha" With a smile, Dawn was already walking out the door, or curtain. Just before Kym was about to turn on her heel and check on May, a voice chirps from the doorway, making her turn around to see the pink mermaid once again.

"Oh and by the way, you might not want to go into May's room" Dawn says, as her usual smile turns into a frown.

"Why not?" Kym asks.

"Because she and Drew are having yet, another argument, I heard something about being arrogant and stuck up, wonder who _that _could be about" Dawn says sarcastically, as she and Kym both knew who the insult was directed to…

"Drew" They both said simultaneously while nodding their heads. If it was one thing that they could both identify, it was May and Drew's arguments, it usually sounded like, "you are the worst coordinator ever" then, "well you're so stuck up" and that was pretty much the basic format. But then again, they can't be worse than Ash and Misty's classic arguments, the age old "do not, do too."

"Well good luck with that" Dawn says before disappearing behind the curtain once again, leaving the raven haired trainer to tackle on the two smitten coordinators.

"Thanks Dawn" Kym says sarcastically before disappearing into the opposite curtain as well. As she draws nearer to the brunette's room, she heard something she didn't expect…silence.

'_Guess they aren't arguing anymore…it's a miracle' _

Step after step, as she gets closer and closer, when she finally reaches the "door" and opens it.

"So May, what'd you think about the cos-" Kym stops mid sentence, only to see what seemed like a green haired pirate trying to swoon a red-tailed mermaid. In other words, picture May being pinned to the wall by Drew, their faces inches apart, and a deep red blush on each of their faces, and standing in the doorway was a girl with a _very _sly smirk on her face, after staring at the two for a few seconds she made a notion as if to say 'well?'

"We-uh are-um…just-" May begins to stutter as she wriggles out of Drew's grasp.

"Just r-rehearsing for the play" Drew says, obviously trying to make it sound believable, which he was doing a horrible job at…making the moment more satisfactory for Kym.

"Look, just don't say anything" Drew asks the Kym, while trying to still avoid eye contact with brunette who was now fiddling with the hem of her ruby red "skirt". Her brown hair draped on her shoulders with a red Staryu clip. Her purple top falling over her shoulders, and her sapphire eyes cautiously eyeing Drew as he exits the room.

"Do I want to know?" Kym says, while stifling a giggle. A blush takes over May's pale face, making her pout and scrunch her eyebrows.

"Not a word Kym, no one word" With that last statement May exits the room and heads for the gym, Kym reluctantly following the embarrassed mermaid.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXo

"Okay, so like we have everyone here right?" Lily asks, as she scrambles to gather the cast up and the Pokemon as well. Violet walks around writing down a few notes…yet again.

"Okay, all of the mermaids are here, but we're missing the pirates" She says as she looks around the Gym. A red-head, a brunette, and a blue-haired girl are sitting on the edge of the pool, with their feet dipped in. Kym and Brendan sitting on the sidelines obviously bored out of their minds. Kym had her arms crossed, and she was slumped down in her seat, Brendan had a face that basically said 'Why is this taking soooo long'

"Why is this taking so long?" Daisy shouts.

"Trust me I was thinking the same thing" Brendan says solemnly as he slumps further into his seat and subconsciously puts his arm on the back of the bench, but his arm didn't quite make contact with the back of the seat and slipped onto Kym's shoulder, causing the both of them to blush. Brendan smiles sheepishly and removes his hand from her shoulder, but before he could take it back, Kym smirks and grabs it, placing it around her shoulders, and leans onto Brendan's chest, crossing her arms in the process.

"Uh-" Brendan begins to say, but is interrupted when three guys appear in the doorway. One of them, having a blue bandana around his raven hair, with little X's on the side, and a grey puffy shirt with a black belt carrying a sword. His dark indigo pants tucked into his black boots, his chocolate eyes brimming with excitement. Another one of them was wearing a maroon shirt with a long brown, trench-like jacket and long, smoky grey pants with a sword in each hand. His onyx eyes scanning the gym, and stopping to focus on the blue-haired girl.

"Wow, you guys look like, the most drop dead gorgeous pirates ever!" Lily squeals with excitement as she runs up to them and snaps a few surprise shots with her camera.

"What did you expect?" The green haired boy says a smirk invading his face. A dark green and light brown vest hugging his torso, with the classic puffed out sleeves, and dark brown pants with folded boots. He reaches his hands up to his bangs and gives them a flick, but it was kind of difficult considering he had a red bandana tied around his head…an all too familiar red bandana….

"Drew! Get my bandana off of your head" May shouts as she places her hands on her hips.

"No," he says simply as he walks over to the edge of the pool, and crouches over to get eye level with May, she was sitting down after all, "besides don't you think it looks…_sexy _on me?" He asks flirtatiously, with a smirk on his face.

"Um…let me think…no!" May shouts once again. Then a small blue turtle Pokemon swims over to May, causing Drew to step back.

"Squirtle, squirt!"

"Don't get that little bubble-squirting Pokemon near me" He says cautiously as he remembers the last time he was near the baby starter Pokemon, leaving May giggling at the memory as well.

"Good job on the costumes Brendan" Lily says while turning over to Brendan who still has his arm wrapped around the young trainer, now this sight earned a few chuckles and giggles from everyone.

Brendan raises a hand as a thanks while trying to sustain a blush on his face.

"Alright now, we're going to be taking loads of pictures so everyone make sure you look okay" Daisy says before being but off by Violet.

"Because these pictures are going to be put all over Cerulean City and we like, can't have our actors looking bad…that would just be like, humiliating"

Misty sweatdrops and sighs, "leave it to my sisters to be considerate" she says sarcastically.

Then without warning the pool begins to rumble and slowly move upwards. Dawn, who has never seen the Cerulean City's battle field, a.k.a the Sensational Sisters' stage for their shows, swam over to Misty and clutched onto her arm.

"Um…Misty…what's happening?" Dawn asks, slightly freaked out by the moving pool.

"Dawn, chill, we're just changing the pool into a "stage"" Misty says calmly, after all she had seen it been done before thousands of times.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Once the stage was set, everyone had climbed up to the top, and all the performers (Dawn. Misty, May, Drew, Ash, and Paul) were currently sitting on a small island like stand in the floating in the middle of the pool. Ash and Misty were sitting _very _close together, and truth be told, it was awkward yet…it felt right. Sure Ash has known Misty for a good 4 years and they were very close, but they were never _this_ type of close, even though both of them hoped someday they'd be.

Now with May and Drew, May was sitting comfortably between Drew's legs, with his arms securely wrapped around her upper body, it was quite a cute scene actually, well at least to Misty and Dawn it was, considering that they kept on giggling non-stop, causing May to blush even more.

"One more giggle Dawn, and I'll send you and your little Piplup straight back to Sinnoh" May says angrily, this comment did not go unnoticed by Drew however.

"You know, I like it when you're angry" He says flirtatiously, causing May to become speechless, and turn her head the other way, avoiding eye contact that could make the situation a lot more awkward.

"Aren't May and Drew just the cutest?" Dawn asks, being her usually girly girl self, but this did not go well with Paul.

"Yes, I think that May and Drew, are like the cutest thing ever" Paul says, stressing a valley-girl accent, obviously just to annoy Dawn.

"Ha-ha very funny Paul" Dawn says sarcastically.

"Oh look, the little mermaid can be sarcastic, it's a miracle, usually you're all like Oh My God, look at those shoes, is my hair okay? Do you wanna like go shopping?" Paul says, imitating Dawn's girly-ness. **(A/N: Ha, just imagine Paul doing that, sorry if he seems a bit OOC on this part)**

"I should whack you upside the head for that…but I won't" Dawn says, as she glares at Paul before leaning back and supporting herself on her hands.

"Paul, get closer to Dawn, grab her waist or something" Violet says, or more like commands.

"What?" Dawn and Paul both shout.

"Well, you're going to have to like kiss in the play so might as well get comfortable with each other" Daisy says while examining her nails, not really paying attention to their reactions.

"We have to what?!?" Dawn and Paul simultaneously shout once again, a blush on both of their cheeks.

"Fine then if you don't want to kiss her then get close to Dawn, she doesn't have like cooties or anything" Violet says, while motioning Paul to put his arm around her waist. Paul who wasn't so jazzed about this whole situation reluctantly placed his arm on Dawn's waist. He could feel a tingling sensation as he placed his fingers on her soft, thin bare waist and he had to admit that Dawn did have a nice body, and he meant a _nice _body. Sure Paul had seen other girls before, but none of them were like Dawn, she was different…a good different.

"Great, now smile!" Lily shouts, while getting ready to take a picture with her blinding camera.

"Cut!" Misty shouts.

"Hey, you can't yell that, only I can. I'm like the director here" Daisy says as she crosses her arms.

"Besides, you can't cut a picture, now scoot together" Violet asks, completely ignoring Misty's outburst. It was obvious that those three really wanted this play to be a huge success.

"Now pretend like you love each other…well, it's not like you really have to pretend" Lily says slyly.

"Lil-" Misty begins to say, but is cut off by a sudden flash.

'_Note to Self: Get that frickin' camera away form Lily' _

"No buts of ifs Misty, we're gonna take this picture and you're all gonna like it…now smile!"

**Yay, I'm finally done. So this chapter was just like a pick up chapter, nothing really important except for the fact that they have costumes now. :P Speaking of their costumes, I'm gonna be putting up pictures of Ash and Misty, May and Drew, and Dawn and Paul, together in their costumes, it's going to be up soon, so please check it out. Think of them as the pictures that Lily took for the flyers :D And I apologize if my stories tend to repeat each other, I just run out of ideas easily…which sucks for all u readers of my stories…:P I'll try and update soon, but the pics will be up before the next chapter, I promise :D**

**So review!! It would be much appreciated :D BTW, thanks to u all who reviewed last chapter :D **

**-XoXo-Contest3Ribbon-XoXo- **


	5. Rehearsals Pt1

**A/N: OMG…an update. I'm soooo sorry that I've basically abandoned this story ( I haven't really! I've jus had so many things to do and I apologize. But the good news is, is that summer is that my school has officially ended so that means I'll have A LOT of time on my hands during the summer ;D **

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****Pokemon**

**XoXoXoXo **

"Lily…if I have to say this line _one _more time…" The cerulean eyed girl says as she tosses her hands up in the air, causing them to fall down with a splash.

"Oh please Misty, we have to have this show perfect and if you ask me you guys are far from it" Daisy buts in harshly, "just be more like…genuine. I mean you and Ash are acting like you don't even know each other and you two," she says while pointing her manicured finger towards a purple haired pirate and a pink tailed mermaid, "you guys act like you don't even want to touch each other, and like don't even get me started on little Miss Brunette and Grass Head over there" She says while making a dismissive motion to the other two in the pool as well. 'Miss Brunette' crossed her arms and put on her classic pout while 'Grass Head' just smirked at the girl causing her to blush.

"Well _sorry_ that we're not all natural performers like you are" Paul says harshly as he puts on his signature angry face towards the two sensational sisters. Paul didn't even know how he got sucked into doing this stupid, frilly show in the first place. Pirates, mermaids, and underwater ballets were one of the _last_ things he would ever do.

His eyes glared at the pink haired girl and the blonde and eventually fell onto a sweet blue-haired girl just about a few centimeters away from him. Her navy hair fell shortly down to her upper back which had a petite and fitting top, just covering what was needed… Paul blushed and scowled at his dirty thoughts and looked away before he continued to gawk at the girl's body.

'_Oh yeah…she's why…'_

The red-head in the pool sighs at her older sister's antics. She glides over to the edge of the pool, her long elegant ginger hair trailing gracefully behind her. A certain brown eyed boy couldn't help but watch her every move with such interest, a small blush on his face as she hoisted herself up onto the edge of the pool, water drops rolling down her slender figure…

"Daisy…Lily," The girl shouts, snapping Ash out of his thoughts, "I understand that you want this to be perfect and all but…face it…we're not. I mean we each barley know our parts…let alone being able to act them out in front of a huge audience!" Misty shouts to her two sisters. Daisy sighed as she knew what her little sister was saying was true.

"Yea little sis, you're like right I guess…" Daisy says a non-caring tone, "…which is exactly why we need to practice more! Let's take it from the battle scene…ACTION!"

All six of them stare at each other in confusion while just Daisy rushed them back into the pool.

"W-wait…which battle scene? There's like 7 of 'em" Ash says as he hops back onto the small floating island in the middle of the large pool while the rest got into there positions.

"The one before you, like, kiss Misty…now GO!"

Ash blushed slightly and mumbled a few words under his breath. The kiss was the scene that would supposedly be the closer to the show and cause the audience to erupt in applause, which meant that he had better make it look good or else he'd have to face a major beating from three Sensational Sisters. It didn't really help that the two had never actually _kissed_ before, or even rehearsed that part.

Ash sighed and shook his head trying to get the thoughts to escape before continuing with the scene that he had probably done a thousand times by now…

**XoXoXoXo**

In the gym lobby stood three figures. One was none other than a Sensational Sister herself, Violet. Her slightly curled blue hair fell over her back as an orange cardigan fit snugly on her upper body complimenting the fitted blue dress she was wearing. She bundled up a few of the rolled up sheets and handed them to a struggling boy beside her.

"So where are these posters going?" The ruby eyed man asks as he tries to keep all the posters clutched in his hands from falling.

The blue haired sister sighs as she finishes rolling up the last of the posters with Ash and Misty cuddled up on the front.

"All around Cerulean. We need to like, get people to come and watch our show, and I'm sure with like, Misty and everyone in it we should be able to get a big crowd." Violet answers. She hands the rolled up poster over to the girl sitting on the sofa in the Cerulean Gym lobby. The girl looks up with her baby blue eyes and sighs, while grabbing the poster.

"And what am I supposed to do with this?" She asks raising one eyebrow.

"You are like supposed to post them all around Cerulean" Violet repeats again, "make sure that they're like, _everywhere._ As in you can't turn a corner without seeing these, like lovely posters…" Violet says while ushering the two out the door.

"But what-" Brendan begins to say but is quickly cut off.

"Now you two get going, we need you back here by like 4 to do some more errands. Now have fun!" With that said the sliding doors to the Cerulean Gym are closed leaving the two teens standing speechless in front of the Gym, each with an armful of posters.

Kym looks around the city before she frustratingly blows a strand of hair out of her face, "So…how are we going to get these _all _over the city?"

"Um…strap them onto nearby Pidgey and have them fly all around Cerulean?" Brendan suggests sheepishly with a joking smile.

Kym turns to him with a skeptical look in her eyes and a 'what-in-the-world' look on her face. "Ugh, that's crazy...Do it" She just wanted to get this over with.

**XoXoXoXoXoXo**

"Now Kingdra use Swift!" Paul commanded towards the large seahorse Pokemon.

"King-dra!" The water Pokemon inhaled before shooting out an array of stars towards the small penguin Pokemon staring straight at the oncoming attack.

"Piplup look out!" Dawn cried holding her hands close to her chest as she watches the stars head straight for her Pokemon.

But since this battle was for a show, the little penguin wouldn't actually get hurt. Kingdra aimed the swift attack towards the water right in front of Piplup causing the water to fly everywhere making it look like Piplup had actually gotten hit.

"Oh no!" Dawn cried getting into her mermaid character. She jumped off the rock she was resting on only to land into the pool. She flipped her pink "tail" towards the penguin Pokemon who swam to the surface all beat up and scooped it up in her arms.

Daisy sat in a director like chair with her name 'Daisy' written in cursive on the back. She was on the edge of her seat clutching onto the script tightly as she watched the two continue their scene. So far it was going well and she wanted to keep it that way.

Lily and Violet were on each side of Daisy as well, paying close attention to the scene before them.

"Kingdra…" The Pokemon said as it swam over to Paul's side, having a triumphant look on its face. Paul reached out and pet the seahorse with a smirk on his face as well.

"Had enough?" He said glaring at the mermaid.

On the sidelines were the rest of the cast. Misty, May, Ash, and Drew all watching the scene before them.

"Wow, they're good" May muttered towards Misty as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh yeah" Ash agreed as well.

'_Now I just can't wait till we do our scene' _

He thought in despair. As far as he was concerned, Misty wasn't much happier about the kiss scene then he was which sucked because he was looking foreword to it.

Dawn clutched onto Piplup tighter and glared straight back at the pirate, a bunch of Goldeen suddenly emerging to the surface surrounding their mermaid protectively.

"You may have won this time but I'm never telling you where it is" Dawn spat.

"Gold-een"

"Goldeen, Goldeen"

The various Pokemon cried as if to agree with Dawn.

Paul smirked and shook his head in disappointment before continuing the next line in the scene.

"Fine, you want to be stubborn? Then so will we. This isn't the end and if it's one thing that pirates were trained to do, is to never give up" He growled towards Dawn. She stood her ground and kept her mouth shut as Paul continued.

"So we'll be back princess, count on it" And with that the lights went black indicating the end of the scene.

"Cut!" Daisy shouted into her microphone once again.

The lights flicked back on and Dawn had swam back to a small floating island hoisting herself up on it while Paul stood a few feet away from her. Both of them were staring intently at Daisy waiting for her oh so _lovely_ critique.

"Well?" Paul asked, getting impatient, his arms crossed waiting for a response.

"Well? Well that was brilliant! It was amazing, you two were like perfect!" She shouted causing Dawn to smile happily.

"That was like the most intense scene ever" Violet added.

"and like you two didn't even mess up" Lily said as well.

"You hear that Piplup! You were great!" Dawn said happily hugging her small water Pokemon lovingly.

"Piplup Pip!" It cheered.

Paul cracked a small smile towards Dawn as he watched her play with her Pokemon. He loved that about her, the soft, sweet, and innocent personality and the love she showed towards her Pokemon and…him but unfortunately he just brushed it all aside. Maybe showing affection wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"That was great Dawn!" May shouted suddenly, interrupting Paul's thoughts. She ran, well swam over to her friend excitedly giving her a hug while having a huge smile on her face.

Dawn giggle at her friend and smiled back, "Thanks May"

"And of course you were great too" Misty said giving her Kingdra a huge hug.

"Kingdra!" It cried happily at its owner.

Ash walked over to the edge of the pool and kneeled down to be eye level with Misty.

"That Kingdra sure has come a long way hasn't it?" He commented as he too reached out to gently pet the water dragon Pokemon.

"Yup, all the way from a little Horsea" Misty said, reminiscing on the old days when she was still able to hold the Pokemon in her arms.

"Now that we have that scene taken care of," Daisy once again shouts causing the six of them to turn to her, "onto the next scene which is like…" Daisy stopped to rummage through the script flipping page by page before finally finding a good place to stop, "May and Drew's get together scene and like after that we'll practice the closer of the show…" Daisy said with a huge smile on her face, Ash slightly looking away from it all while Misty glared in embarrassment at her sisters.

"The famous kiss scene!!" Lily shouted excitedly waving her hands in the air.

"Hehe…joy…" Ash said nervously, still not even bothering to look in Misty's direction.

"Come on Ash, don't act like you're not excited" Drew said teasingly, nudging his pirate friend lightly on the arm.

"Oh yea…believe me…I am…" He said whole-heartedly as he nervously chuckled feeling his cheeks light up in red.

**XoXoXoXoXoXo**

Meanwhile, outside on the streets of Cerulean the posters were attraction more attention then anyone thought they would have and unfortunately, two raven-headed teens were caught in the middle of it.

"So they finally decided to have another show?"

"Are Ash and Misty the main characters?"

"I heard they used to travel together"

"_Are_ they together?"

"What about Drew and May?"

"I don't know, read the poster yourself and show up for the show, maybe that'll answer all your questions" The girl huffed as she rolled her eyes and hurriedly scurried away from the group of fans.

"Do you honestly think that making them see Ash and Misty kiss is going to stop all their hassling?" Brendan asked as he ran a hand through his hair, keeping his gaze on the girl next to him.

"Good point…" She said in defeat, "but that is _if_ Ash decides to kiss Misty. Knowing him, he'll be too considerate to force Misty to kiss him just because of some stupid show" Kym explained as she began to head back to the gym, Brendan following.

"You're right, he'll probably tell her that too" Brendan added on. The two continued to walk back the gym silently before Kym decided to speak up.

"and _then_ they'll kiss" She said with a giggle. She just knew that Ash and Misty had certain feelings that could no longer be ignored, and thanks to the play, it was helping them bring their true emotions out or at least she hoped it would.

Kym smirked at her point and gave a small smile to Brendan who couldn't help but smile back and agree.

**XoXoXoXoXoXo**

**A/N: And that concludes this chapter :D Again I apologize for the long wait but to make up for that, made this chapter extra long, 8 pages of writing and I hope you guys enjoyed it. The next chapter will be coming soon but until then, expect updates for the other stories and a new one to be coming out soon. Thanks for reading!**

**R&R**

**XoXo-Contest3Ribbon-XoXo **


	6. Rehearsals Pt2

**A/N: WOW. Um it's been a while huh? Uh yes it has. Well I'm back for this chapter :) Sorry for the ridiculously long wait…as usual. But hey, after this chapter I may just write another haha. So since I haven't updated this story in a **_**while**_**, you may want to reread the last few chapters because I sure had to. And my writing now is a hell of a lot different from back then so…I'm hoping this chapter will be a step up. Thanks guys! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6: Rehearsals Pt. 2**

Day 32.

By now everyone was practically their character. Lines were memorized perfectly, hands down, costumes were all fixed up and ready for action, the Pokemon were even getting antsy for performance and tired of routine choreographed battles and the actors…well…they were something else.

They were…

"Yes I got the scene right!!"

Happy.

"For the love of Mew, we have to do it…_again_?"

Annoyed.

"It's just a kiss, it's just a kiss…c'mon Ash"

Nervous.

"Okay listen up!!"

And now, scared absolutely shitless.

"You can't mess up ya got that?! There will be people _watching_ you and trust me, oh they will see a mistake. The crowds are like Staraptors, they either like it or hate it-"

Daisy butted in, "And like, what else would they expect from the Sensational Sisters"

Violet added, "So you guys better not, like screw it up, understand?"

Incoherent murmurs escaped the bunch of actors before them. They've been through this lecture before, it had been going on everyday for the past week until the play opened which was tomorrow.

"Good!" Daisy shouted, "We have practice in 5, go get a quick, _quick_ bite and don't be late!!" She blew a ear screeching whistle and let the group scatter.

May plugged her ears, "Geez Misty, when did your sister get that stupid whistle?"

Misty groaned, "From that little box of horrors they keep backstage, it has their megaphone, that freakin' whistle, a huge paparazzi style camera, and anything else you could imagine…" She rolled her eyes, already used to her sister's antics.

When it came down to it, her sisters were more prepared to turn the Cerulean Gym into a theater than to battle a little beginner trainer.

**XoXoXoXo**

"…no don't worry I won't harm you I promise. I have just…never seen such a beautiful creature like you before, not this…_close"_

May blushed as she let Drew walk foreword, his eyes bearing into hers. They were currently rehearsing Scene III, Act I, _'First Pirate Meets Mermaid' _Violet oh so brilliantly named it.

The three sisters sat in their high chairs overseeing the whole scene.

"There is a reason why us _creatures_ stay away from pirates like you" May recited back. She scooted foreword; so much as her costume would let her. She kept her arms placed in front of her on the large rock letting her 'tail' fall across the bottom. The only problem was, her tail of dress would only let her move so far and in one move…

_'Rip!'_

"Oh for the love of Mew!!" Kym cried from the bleachers as she watched her costume tear right up to May's mid-calf.

May frustratingly blew a strand of hair from her face, throwing a glance at the directors.

"Just finish the scene then let them fix it!!" Daisy said in a harsh whisper, using her hands to motion the two.

_'There's only one line left anyways' _

Drew nodded and took that as his cue, "Hmm, care to elaborate?"

"Gladly"

"CUUT!!"

May and Drew relaxed from their positions as May struggled to hop off the rock. Drew reached out his arms to help steady the poor girl as she had to hop in her tight skirt. He called the Gyrados over that served as their transport to the little island in the middle of the pool.

He placed his hand around her waist and helped life her up placing his other hand on the back of her knees placing her steadily onto the Gyrados' back considering that May couldn't really swing her own leg across Gyrados.

"Well aren't you quite the gentlemen these days" May half teased half thanked.

He smirked, "Bout time you realized."

She opened her mouth to retort but before she knew it Kym was by her side helping her get off and to make sure she didn't damage her precious costume even more.

"Ya know Kym you outta make this skirt a little more loose so I can actually you know…_move_!" May quipped.

Kym spoke with the measuring tape in her mouth, walking with May to try and measure the huge rip in the side that seemed to get larger and larger with every step she took, "Well they wanted mermaid so I gave 'em mermaid" She answered back.

Step. Rip. Step. Rip.

Not only was Kym about to rip her hair out at the sight of her beloved costume falling apart but Drew couldn't help but follow the rip as it went higher, and higher, and. . ._higher. _

He snapped out of it as he heard Lily's voice break through, "-yeah we moved all your stuff to the back room under the stage for the play! But be careful the lock like, totally sticks!"

Brendan held up a hand, "Kay thanks!"

May pouted, "Kymmie it keeps ripping" She pouted as she held up the front part of the skirt, further revealing her perfectly toned, silky thing…

Drew tried so hard to hold in his blush.

"Alright just give me…" Kym began to console.

"You heard her just get the stupid skirt fixed…_now_" Drew muttered with his eyes closed as he went behind May and pushed her forward towards the back room.

May looked back at him with curiosity at the crack of his voice, "What-?"

"Just go before your entire skirt falls off, and you wouldn't want that would you?" He muttered into her ear as he leaned forward, continuing to push her. She blushed and frantically shook her head, thankful Drew couldn't see her red stained cheeks, not that Drew didn't have that either.

Brendan walked up to Drew and let out a snort.

"."

. . .

May leaned against the table dressed respectively in her shorts as she watched Kym path up her flowly red tail. She held the thread in her mouth as she pulled the needle through the cloth.

"I don't understand how this skirt could just fall apart, I mean what have you been doing?"

May shrugged.

"Or _who_" Kym added with a smirk.

"What?!" May shrieked.

Kym looked up and smiled innocently as she promptly cut the thread, "Oh nothing" She held up the skirt and shook it out a bit, it's luster and sparkle back to new, "alright now here ya go, try it on and tell me how that feels, I loosened it a bit so I think you'll be able to move a little bit more" She said with a smile as she placed it back in May's arms.

She turned her around and pushed her to the two room dressing room.

May shuffled in closing and locking the door behind her. She looked around as saw the make-up and accessories set up neatly on the counter, the mirror huge with flashy lights surrounding the outer rim, then another 3 panel mirror off to the side.

She looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted the pearls that lay promptly in her hair as a headband.

In 2 easy seconds May slipped off her shorts and slipped on her tail, situating to look like it did just before.

"Perfect"

"Hmm, I could say less"

She whipped her head around to face none other than the pirate himself.

"Drew?! How did you-? Don't tell me you were…" She began to mutter, her nerves on edge.

Drew let out a chuckle as he leaned against the doorway that led to another plain dressing room with nothing but a sofa in it.

"Relax May, I didn't see…much" He had to throw in.

"Drew, I swear I'm gonna-!!"

She raised her hands up at him and began to hit him at full force, which didn't feel like much to him. He quickly seized her wrists and held them in his huge palms, stopping her barricades of smacks.

"Relax, it's not like I didn't see anything I didn't like" He muttered, his tone still cocky but…softer than before.

"Ha!" She barked out a laugh, "Nice try"

He was taken aback and his face showed his confusion, "What?" He tried to laugh off, "you don't believe me?"

She shook her head almost at once, "No I don't. After the second contest I met you in, I learned that you weren't the most trustworthy guy" She spoke what she truly believed.

And with all his teasing, and retorts, who could blame her? It was hard for her to get past the insults from her rival and see through that cocky manner. However…

"I wasn't lying"

That didn't stop her from liking him.

She bit her lip, "Uh-huh sure, 'oh you're a _great_ coordinator May' 'wow you looked cute in that dress'" She gushed words that he had previously spoke, adding in the fake, dripping sarcasm.

"Hey," He said, jerking her hands foreword, making her look up at him, "How do you know I didn't mean that?"

She raised an eyebrow.

Okay, granted he knew he wasn't exactly the nicest guy to her but…he couldn't' help it. She was so damn _cute_ when she got mad and it was good to know, when she was fighting back, she was only focusing on him. Kinda selfish of him true, but…he liked her that much.

"Well you look beautiful now…do you believe me?" He asked, his tone for once hopeful instead of mocking.

She let her eyes drop and shook her head determinedly.

He kissed her forehead.

"Now?"

She nodded a no again, "No"

Then, he leaned down and kissed her cheek, making eye contact with her searching for an answer, "Nice try" She said.

And somehow she knew what was coming next.

He kissed her nose sweetly and before he pulled back to await her answer, he leaned in and softly but surely, pressed his lips against hers.

She registered the feel of him so close to her, and the taste of his lips on her. Her body stiffened in nervousness and before she knew it, she leaned up on her tippy toes to kiss him further.

He let go of her hands and wrapped them around her waist and pulled her up as she moved her arms around his neck.

In his mind Drew smirked, _'Finally'_

. . .

Kym looked up from her work to glance at Brendan, who sat there, cutting up a piece of fabric to the appropriate size.

"Hey Brendan?" Kym asked, her head resting in the palm of her hand.

"Yea?" He asked, looking up.

She looked around noticing no cocky coordinator standing about, "Where's Drew?"

"In the dressing room," Brendan answered promptly. Her blue eyes widened. If Drew was in the dressing room, and then May just went in there then…

He registered her silence as he looked up again, only to see her shocked face.

"…what?" He asked slowly.

"Oh no" She said in a hurry. She hopped off the stool and then ran towards the white door and instantly pulled on the doorknob.

There was 'thud' followed by a 'what the hell?'.

Kym wriggled the door again and then cleared her throat, "Uhm guys?"

Drew cleared his throat before answering, his voice a bit muffled from the other side of the door, "What?" He said, a bit on edge.

"Well…um," Kym began as she began to wriggle the door realizing that it would not budge. At all, "first off, I'm glad you two met," She said acknowledging her mistake, pushing May into the dressing room unknowing that Drew was in there, "And secondly…I think your locked in" She jiggled the doorknob once more only to be greeted by the shakes of the sturdy door.

_'But be careful the lock like, totally sticks!' _Lily's words came flooding back to her as Kym hung her head with a sigh. Brendan held in a laugh as he walked up to Kym, pulling her away from the door.

"What?!? Are you serious?!?" They heard May yell.

"Brendan what-?"

He put a finger to his lips to silence her, "Yeah hang on, we'll go find Lily and ask if she knows how to get it unlocked or something. Come on" He mouthed the last part to Kym, pulling her hand and dragging her out the door, shutting it right after May managed to shout, "Hurry!"

Kym watched him carefully as he shut the door, "And just what are you planning?"

He stuck his hands in his pocket and shrugged, "Well I'm going to give you three guesses as to what they could do in there"

It took her 3…2..1…

"_Oh_" She giggled, "Gotcha. Then I guess we could always figure how to get them out "later"" She quoted.

He smiled, "Exactly, I'm sure the directors won't mind"

**XoXoXoXo**

"Dawn…are you sure?"

She laughed and then pulled onto his hand, "Yeah we're just getting a snack and besides," She turned around swiftly on her heel to face Paul, "I've never been in this part of the Gym before"

She turned to face the huge hallway, huge tanks flanking both sides. The glass almost seemed non-existent as she walked up to the front and placed her hand on the glass. All sorts of water Pokemon were gracefully swimming about, Goldeen, Seaking, Horsea, a pair of Luvdisc, Corsola, and a Lanturn were all she recognized. The others she wasn't too familiar with.

"Awh look, it's a Staryu!" Dawn pointed out as the little golden star Pokemon swam up to her, Horsea following the Pokemon.

Paul however, kept his distance.

He wasn't interested in the Pokemon partly because he'd seen them all before and because they all looked a bit too 'weak' for him. I mean would you ever catch Paul with a little seahorse next to his mighty Torterra? Didn't think so.

Granted he did marvel at the Gym, being so well kept. The battle grounds were great and the whole battling on water thing did strike an interest.

But when it came down to it, Paul kept his distance because…well, because of her. The little bubbly blunette of a coordinator did more than just strike his nerve. Nowadays he was making these stupid impulsive decisions, like walking the wrong direction just to see if she would notice. This was so not like him. And he wasn't sure what was going on but he knew, that there was _no_ way, he was going to turn into some sappy trainer that followed the heels of his crush like a lovesick Poochyena.

That wasn't his style. Although maybe more like a Mightyena…

"Okay, we can go now"

She snapped him out of his thoughts as he glanced down to the younger girl, being a good foot taller than her.

"Finally" He said rolling his eyes.

Her face scrunched up, "Well excuse me Paul, next time you wanna stop and I don't know, catch some Pokemon I won't wait for you!" She said in triumph.

He was taken aback, "That was a dense thing to say. How are you gonna do that if right after this stupid play, you'll be going back with Ash and Brock and I'm…not" His words were sharp, and indecisive. It took him a while to register what he just said. It almost sounded as if he was…angry.

He did wonder though, what would happen after this? Would everyone just go their separate ways? Misty staying here, May and Drew heading off to Johto, Brendan back to Hoenn, Kym back to wherever she traveled, and Dawn…back with…someone that wasn't him? Well he knew he only saw her during Gym Battles but at the slow rate Ash was going, it was unlikely he'd be seeing her again anytime soon.

She unfurrowed her eyebrows and dropped her eyes a bit, reaching up to play with a strand of her long hair, a nervous habit Paul immediately picked up on, "Oh, guess you're right. I didn't really think about that" She said.

"Yeah…well, try to think things through next time" He said.

_'I don't want you rubbing that in my face anymore'_ He stopped himself form adding.

She nodded, "Fine, fine. So, do you know which way leads back to the pool?" Dawn suddenly asked, shaking her head to look at the left hallway, the right, then to the one right down the middle.

'_It's the left hallway troublesome'_ He knew. Of course Paul knew, he was just _so_ on top of things…

"Yeah, um it's to the…right" He said, immediately taking a step forward to pass her, taking the hallway that would undoubtedly _not_ lead them to the pool.

_'What am I doing? What in the name of Arceus am I doing?' _He shouted in vain in his head.

"Hey, wait up!"

She stood there for too long, letting Paul walk several feet in front of her. She turned on her heel and ran up behind him.

Never, ever…did Paul _ever_ have to hold back on anyone in his 7 years of being a trainer. He always went at them with full force, and never waited for anyone.

But…

"So, Paul how many badges you have left?" A smile gracing her lips as she caught up with him.

He'd wait for her. He'd definitely wait for her.

. . .

Now, wonder how long it took the Sensational Sisters to realize four of their prized actors were MIA?

…Not long.

**XoXoXoXo**

"Okay Ash, Misty you can get out of the pool and take a 5 minute break! But you'd better like be back here when that's over kay?" Daisy shouted.

The red-head and trainer threw their hands up as if to say 'Yeah we got it'.

Lily sighed as she scanned through the pictures on her camera, "Oh these pictures are like so beautiful, I mean, I think we totally did like a good job" The pink haired girl cried.

Violet nodded, "Of course. That's what we're known for"

"Uhm guys…where are our next actors?" The sets of eyes looked around noticing that the pool was absolutely deserted.

Daisy clenched the script in her hand with a quick squeeze of her manicured nails. Her patience was wearing thin…

**XoXoXoXo**

She laughed as she stepped out of the sliding doors nearly dripping in her flip flops as she tried to dodge Ash's water droplets that he was oh so kindly shaking onto her.

"Ew Ash stop it, that's disgusting" She half laughed and half meant.

He let out cheeky laugh, "Oh the Water Pokemon Master is afraid of water?" He said, running a hand through his hair pulling out the chlorine droplets and flicking them into Misty's face.

She turned her head away before pulling the towel out form around her neck. She walked up to Ash still full in costume, placing the towel over his head, "Geez Ash you're like a little kid"

He raised his hands up and placed them right over hers, squeezing them lightly.

She stopped her movements and tried to catch a glimpse of the chocolate eyes she had gotten so used to. He pulled hands back, pulling her along with them as he placed the towel around his neck and held her hands so that her arms extended over his shoulders and around his neck.

"You know, it's been a while since I've seen you in a mermaid costume" He said, not breaking eye contact.

She blushed and turned away slightly, wearing a scowl on her face, "Yeah, back when we were what? 10? 11?" She spat, reminiscing on the other play her sisters suckered her into back when they first started traveling together. Earning her the nickname "The Misty Mermaid".

"Yeah, that _was_ a while ago," He said, obviously not wanting to go deeper into the memories that seemed so far away, "Well this play's different" He smiled.

She pulled her hands back much to his dismay to cross her arms, "Yeah for starters, my sisters are crazier this time?" She offered.

"And there's more people involved" Ash said, pointing out the blatantly obvious.

"Plus there's actually a _choreographed_ fight this time" She said, remembering the Team Rocket fiasco.

"And better costumes" He stole a glance at her figure.

_'Much better…'_

"Hm, now what else?" Misty sighed.

Now Ash being the compulsive boy he was spoke up in an instant, not registering his words until after the short phrase left his mouth.

"No kiss"

She looked up at him her cerulean eyes wide.

_'Awh crap'_ He cursed.

"Ash…about that…" Misty spoke up.

They'd talked about the kiss before, but it was a short conversation, not long enough to really get into the _real_ concern about the little lip lock. To be honest, Misty didn't really know why she was freaking out so much; it was just a little peck, something to convince the little kids in the audience.

And maybe Ash too.

Unknown to everyone she was worried. She'd never really kissed anyone before but it wasn't like she couldn't. The gym, the battles, the keeping everything together deal kept her busy, and the trainers that came by the gym to hit on her weren't exactly her type.

So what was the problem with the kiss?

What if he was disgusted?

What if that changed the way they saw each other? Would that mean no more best friends?

What if things got…awkward?

And her biggest fear, what if she kissed him and liked it…and he didn't.

The tough Kanto gym leader would never say these fears out loud but they were there, boy were they there. What she was going to do about it?

What she always did.

Wing it.

"Mist you hear what I said?"

She snapped out if it in a second, "Huh? Yeah sorry"

He wrapped an arm around her waist, his hand touching her thin, bare, delicate figure and then directed her towards the patio outside, "basically…" he said picking up where he left off, leaving Misty regretful for zoning out on the first half on his conversation, "you don't have to kiss me if you don't want to, even though I-"

"Oww!! Violet let go of us!!"

"Watch the skirt, watch the skirt!!"

"What the-?" Misty looked up and then stared at her sisters dragging in one trainer, a researcher, and two coordinators by a rope that tied them all together.

Drew, May, Kym, and Brendan were all wrangled up by a thick, braided rope, one that could be used to lasso a Rapidash.

"See that's what you get for trying to ditch our practice!!!" Violet shouted.

"D-ditch?! What no! We got locked in a closet!!"

Lily rolled her eyes, "Like we're ever gonna believe that"

Misty held up her hands, "Violet, Lily why don't you let them go, I mean I'm sure they have a valid reason…_right_ guys?" She said, grinding her teeth together shooting her friends a glare.

Brendan hung his head in a sigh, Kym smiled nervously, and May and Drew blushed insanely.

It wasn't long before Daisy entered the room holding Dawn and Paul by there ears, "Hm and lookey who else I found. Their excuse is they 'got lost'"

Dawn squealed, "Hey we did!! Paul led us in the wrong direction!!" She tried to explain.

Ash raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Really?"

Paul shot him a glare, trying to convince himself, "Really," He lied.

Misty smacked her face into her palm, shaking her head at her sisters antics yet again. When they said they were going to put on a show, they going to put on a show. And if their reputation was on the line, then they were going to make it the best damn thing your eyes have ever seen.

Daisy grinned, a glint in her eye, "Hehe, you guys aren't getting away from practice this time"

"Where did she even get this rope?" May asked.

"Probably from that little box of horrors" Kym answered.

**XoXoXoXo**

And this was it. No one was getting locked in dressing rooms anymore, no more of the 'we're taking a break', and no more getting lost in the Gym. And definitely no more…_interruptions._

This was it, the moment that the crowds and the sisters had been waiting for.

Daisy cleared her throat, tossing a blonde lock over her shoulder, "Ladies and Gentle welcome to our showing of, An Underwater Tale!!!!"

**XoXoXoXo**

**A/N: Whoa! Two days and this is the result. I kinda just opened a new file and started writing!! It was great and yes only one more chapter left, sorry if this seemed rushed and crammed. I tried to touch on every one of my favorite couples (: and to be quite honest, I don't think I write Dawn and Paul very well…**

**But anyways a few quick things…**

**Did anyone catch my song lyric from 'The Best Damn Thing' at the end by Avril Lavigne haha. Just thought I would throw that in.**

**Sorry for grammer/spell mistakes. My spell check is still not working :/**

**Any criticism allowed of course(: **

**And a shout out to every freaking person who reviewed this story, including the people who reviewed the last chapter: **Poke-Digifan123-awesomeJ, XxRoseLoverxX, MyLifeIsBluberries, Claudette14, blackhairedfreaks, Roses and Cherry Blossoms, DAML-AAMLLover06, EggrollPerson, lulu halulu, Riikani, AngelsHeart0908, -SmilingArtist-, roseandrosa, Axynr, Rose Garden, Luna Rei Harmony, The biggest ikarishipping Fan, Alyss Ashworth, Kefka VI, Kicon, SwiftstarOfTheSingingWind, and Millz-bee (Love you Hun 3)

**Thank you guys for staying loyal to the story even though updates are spastic. Next chapter…whenever I can write again!! Love you al!! **

**R&R!! Make me happy (:**

**XoXo-Contest3Ribbon-XoXo**


	7. Lights, Camera, Action

**A/N: No excuse for why I haven't updated. Don't got the time, but here you go. Enjoy my faithful reviewers.**

. . .

She pulled herself out of the water carefully, letting the element she had grown so accustomed to slide down her arms and soak her hair as it swayed with each ebb and flow. She reached out to grip the sand between her fingers and let it sift through; she marveled at the earth as though she had never seen it before. Her curiosity was peaking and the exhilaration rushed through her body. It was all new to her, the only thing she had ever felt comfortable in was the mass of blue that hugged her gently, and now for her to take this step, it was huge. It wasn't long until she eagerly let her deep cerulean eyes dart back and forth with a hint of worry and a small. . . _rush. _

For the audience members that didn't know it already. . . Misty was a damn good actress.

Ash watched her slowly, his interest both acting and genuine.

"You don't come on land much, do you?" He recited; though the line was short and sweet, he managed to add an organic, coy tone to it that intensified the scene.

She tilted her head to the side with a giggle and parted her lips to answer, "Can't, I'm a mermaid . . . remember?" As the words left her mouth, she brought her sea green tail up above the water for all to see. The way she moved with it, it almost seemed like a piece of cake.

"Right, not an easy thing to forget," He said, his line earning a few laughs from the audience.

He walked forward now, taking initiative in the scene and finally, knelt down until he was face to face with the redhead bobbing up and down in the water.

She stared back at him with confidence, "Now, don't tell me, this is the part where you threaten to kill me unless I give you that giant trident that everyone seems to want, so you can control the ocean's tides and blah, blah?"

Ash smirked, "Ooh, you're close but not quite"

"Oh really?" she played along, this time bringing a finger up to her chin, "I'm surprised, that's usually what you _pirates_ go for"

"Well, I'm no ordinary pirate, I promise you that"

She locked her gaze with his and almost slowly, she pushed her arms up, bringing her entire upper body up and out of the water to sit on the water's edge with him. He adjusted himself just so that she would have enough room and so that he'd be able to keep a straight line of sight on her.

"I guess the fact that I'm still alive proves that," She brought her hands up to brush through her locks, "so what do you want?"

He paused a bit before finally letting a grin stretch across his face, "I want you, to give me all the treasures of the seven seas"

She felt her eyes widen and then shook her head with a bitter laugh, "Now how did I not guess that one"

The lights went black indicating the end of the scene, which was so well performed that the audience did well to express their enjoyment as they whistled and hollered at the large tank for a good 3 minutes.

Amidst it all, Misty was sure to make sure her mike was cut before she reached out to grab onto Ash's shirt.

"You ready?"

"Yup" Was his reply as she gave him a tug, indicating that it was time for both of them to make their leave. The darkened lights did well to hide their escape but unfortunately, it wasn't like there was a big underwater sign that had an arrow saying, 'Exit Stage Right'.

The two managed to swim through the opened cave on their set and make it out in time for May and Dawn's scene to start. By the times the lights went back on, Ash was already pulling Misty up out of the water and onto the ground before them.

"That was good," he said as Misty finally gained her balance, what with her feet bound together and covered in a full length tail.

"Thanks, well, you weren't so bad either," She laughed as she twisted all the extra water from her hair, letting it fall back into the pool.

"Who would've thought your sisters would come up with a play people would actually like," He teased, knowing full well that no matter how talented the Sensational Sisters may have been, play writing was not one of their strengths.

The youngest sister laughed, "Oh I agree, a few nights ago it took me two hours to try and convince them to not rip off the plot of that latest pirate movie"

"Oh, that would've been hard . . . the mermaids were pretty hot in that"

She glanced up at him, rolling her eyes with a chuckle as she gave him a playful nudge.

"Well, you ain't exactly Jack Sparrow," she chided.

He let another laugh escape his lips, "You're right, I'm more the Will Turner type" He convinced, eyeing her carefully as though hoping to elicit another giggle from her.

Although she would never show it, being with Ash in this small little underwater cavern had her completely at ease. She was with the two things she knew best in her life, one was water, and the other was him. Just like she could always count on the liquid to sooth her and calm her down, she could always count on Ash to be there for her and always put a smile on her face. Lately, this play had really put things in perspective for her. Was Ash still just Ash, or was he the Ash that she found herself thinking about _a lot_ lately?

She suddenly shook her head internally. Ash was Ash, what the hell was she talking about? He was her best friend through and through. Granted though, he did change-in many more ways than one, and she wasn't sure if she was. . . happy with his changes or angry because his new attitude, body, and dare she say, charisma, were driving her absolutely insane.

She said nothing as she let her snort answer his little quip, "We'd better get backstage, our next scene should be starting soon" She said, bringing the attention back to what she felt comfortable with.

He walked in close and let his hand rest on the curve of her back in a small, quiet, and comfortable gesture. She didn't have much time to react before he opened the door leading to the backstage dressing rooms.

"After you Miss Swann" He laughed.

She rolled her eyes, "Why thank you Mr. Turner"

. . .

Meanwhile on stage, the scene was divided into two simultaneous sights. The first, were Paul and Drew, both resting on the deck of their ship-a ship that Daisy, Lily, and Violet managed to build or rather, hire someone to build in time for the play. Next was Dawn and May, both underwater in a small cavern that seemed like any other cave to the audience but had an air space that allowed them to breathe and say their lines.

The mood of this scene was rather dramatic, and frantic.

"I-I don't get it, she was right behind me!" Dawn cried out as she moved her arms as if to explain what had just happened to the brunette in front of her, "I don't understand how I could lose sight of her so easily-!"

May reached out shake her head, "Well, maybe those-"

Her sentence dropped as the spotlight then moved to the pirates who were just as distraught, pacing back and forth on their ship. Drew was the first to speak as he brought a hand up to his chin.

"-mermaids got him. I knew it! They look all pretty but once they get their hands on you they'll pull you into the depths of the ocean. How could he have been so careless?" He rambled on, obviously unaware that Ash, his pirate of a friend was indeed safe.

"He wasn't careless maybe it was just-"

The scene switched back to the mermaids as the spotlight did will to avert the attention of the audience.

"-a mistake?But she never makes mistakes! She's one of the strongest fighters out there. . . " Dawn cried once more. A sudden gasp escaped her lips, all the Goldeen and Seaking beneath her feat looking up at her with anticipation, "Oh no, what if-?"

"What if what?" May asked, just as curious as the audience, who Dawn had hanging on her every word.

The spotlight moves again, onto Drew once more.

"What if they got him Paul?"

The older pirate crossed his arms and leaned against the railing carefully, raising an eyebrow with interest, "You don't really think he'd let himself get captured would he?"

Drew turned back to him with a sudden anger in his eyes. His frustration was apparent and the audience was sucked into this important, plot developing scene so much that with every dramatic pause they each took, they were on the edge of their seats, waiting for the next line.

Drew shook his head and laughed, "Would he let himself get captured? No, he wouldn't. He's too good of a pirate to be taken in by a-"

" stupid, evil, greedy, and arrogant pirate. They must've tricked her somehow . . . grabbed her Milotic and threatened to hurt it unless she came with them" May elaborated, carrying the scene once more. She had to admit, that huge battle scene that had unfolded before was one of the best-and fortunately, it turned out _way_ better than it had during rehearsals. Non e of the Pokémon missed their cues and neither did the actors for that matter. That epic showdown between Misty's Gyrados-who was currently fighting on Ash's side, and Brendan's Milotic, who was in turn Misty's beloved sidekick was one that ended in a huge explosion of smoke, glitter, and a light mist that showered over the audience.

As a coordinator she thought that her and Dawn did a pretty good job organizing the fight and with the furious claps and squeals from their directors, she realized that Daisy, Lily, and Violet didn't think it was half bad either.

Suddenly, Dawn snapped her fingers, acting as though this sudden idea had popped into her head, "Wait a second. . . "

"What is it?" May found herself questioning yet again.

"I didn't see that black haired pirate get onto the ship with them," she elaborated.

May nodded, "You're right, come to think of it, his Gyrados is missing as well.," the wheels in her head started turning, "Which means, if he's missing too. . .? "

The scene changed again, this time unraveling a very important piece in the play's plot.

"-then we can _pretend_ we have her so that way, we can trick them into giving Ash back to us!"

Paul watched Drew carefully, and then shook his head, bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Clearly, Paul was playing the older, more mature, and more sensible pirate, a character that seemed to have an awful lot in common with his real life personality traits, so for him, this was an easy job.

"I don't know if you didn't notice, but we _don't_ have the red-haired mermaid. They're bound to call us on our bluff," he sighed, "They may be half fish, but they're not stupid"

The spotlight moved once again, this time, cutting to May's laughter, "Sure they're not Dawn, and I'm secretly a Pidgeot" The audience laughed as they realized that the conversations were paralleling each other.

"May. . . maybe this isn't such a good idea," she began to reason, her and Paul both acting as the voice on conscience.

"It's a brilliant idea! They'll never know that we don't have their friend but by the time they figure that out, we'll have Misty back with us and we'll scare 'em off for good!" She swam forward lightly to grab onto Dawn's hands.

A group of water Pokémon suddenly surfaced around them, all of them chirping as if to reinforce May's idea and get the pink tailed mermaid to go along with the plan.

It wasn't long before Piplup and Kym's Lumineon surfaced and nudged Dawn lightly did she actually began to think about the plan.

"Think of it as our final victory" Drew's voice suddenly sounded out over the mikes as he too began to convince Paul. The spotlight divided and landed on both scenes now, the two groups on opposite sides of the pool/stage. May and Drew were seemingly pleading with Dawn and Paul to get them to come on board with their crazy-enough-to-just-might-work plan.

"Please?" May asked.

"C'mon Paul" Drew echoed.

It didn't take long for an answer to be heard.

"Fine," Both Dawn and Paul said, resulting in a flurry of cheers from the water Pokémon and laughter from each other.

"You won't regret this!" May squealed as she lunged herself forward to latch her arms around Dawn in a huge embrace. Dawn only giggled softly as she reached a hand up to pat her hand on her back.

"This had better work May," She told her.

Drew cut in, as if to answer for the both of them, "Don't worry it will. All you have to do, is follow my lead-" He smirked as both him and May took their cues to turn out to the audience, ready recite the final line of the scene.

" –we'll get Misty back in no time"

"-we'll get Ash back in no time"

Finally, the lights blacked out once more, indicating the end of the scene.

"Do you hear that? The loved it! They totally _loved_ it!" Lily shouted in excitement as the three sisters sat above in the director's box, overseeing the entire play and more importantly, controlling the lights, sound, and pretty much the entire play. So far, they liked everything they saw. The audience was the same as they were still cheering-not realizing that it was time for intermission.

"And that was only the first act," Daisy laughed, "Wait 'till they get a taste of the second one" There was mischievous twinkle in her eye and if you didn't know all of the eldest Sensational Sister's little perks and signs, you wouldn't have realized that that little twinkle, meant she had a plan.

Violet crossed her arms carefully, "Daisy, okay spill" She caught on immediately.

"What?" Daisy looked up and tossed her golden blonde locks over her shoulders, "You think I'm hiding something?"

Lily crossed her arms, "We _know_ you're hiding something"

It wasn't long before Daisy couldn't hold in her excitement and finally clapped her hands excitedly with a fit of giggles. Whatever her plan was, it clearly made the three of them burst with excitement as soon as Daisy shared it with her two sisters and not to mention, it certainly was going to _spice _up the second act.

For Daisy, everything seemed foolproof, nothing could get in the way of her, and this oh so brilliant and ingenious idea she had come up with.

That is, unless you were little Miss Kymberly overhearing every last word of their conversation. But now that she too knew of what Daisy, Violet, and Lily were talking about-she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell or not because she had to admit, it was a pretty damn good idea.

. . .

"The crowd is just eating this up! I never realized how _fun_ the spotlight could be" May giggled as she sat in front of her vanity table, bringing a nice, strawberry pink gloss to her lips and painting it on delicately, smacking her lips in the process.

Misty rolled her eyes as she stood in front of the full length triple mirror, re-pinning her tiara up on top of her head, "You're a coordinator May, you guys live for the spotlight, not to mention you're all little diva's on the inside. You practically burp glitter" Her tease was not taken lightheartedly by May as she pouted and stuck her tongue out in the mirror, hoping that Misty would catch her reflection.

Dawn laughed before realizing that she too, was a coordinator.

A sudden knock was heard on the door before the three turned to see Lily, holding two baskets in her hands, clearly bearing gifts.

"Look at what I got! Your _adoring _fans sent you backstage goodies," She laughed.

Lily reached into the first basket and began to pull out flowers and chocolate and all sorts of candies each with their own tag and message. She walked over to Dawn and dumped a handful of sweets into her arms-most of which were from her mother but she was happy none the less when she saw a few signed 'Lots of Love, Zoey' and 'Keep it up DeeDee! –Kenny'.

Dawn smiled, "Wow, I didn't realize so many people would be here-this play sure did hit it off huh?"

Lily scoffed, as if mortally offended, "Of course it's a hit! The last time we put on a show was. . . forever ago! And the fans clearly love us and miss us so much that they couldn't wait to hop on board with our next play! Not to mention, you guys are all pretty popular so-I guess we owe you. . . "

Misty suddenly broke out in a grin and walked up to her sister, slinging an arm around her shoulder, "What's this? A sensational sister, _thanking_ someone else. Oh my, do I feel ever so honored" She feinted as she brought a hand up to her forehead dramatically.

Lily scoffed and flicked her little sister on the forehead with a grin, "Don't forget baby sister, you're a Sensational Sister too. You've already got one boy falling at your heels," She teased.

A silent rush suddenly entered the room, if only for a second-but during that time May and Dawn exchanged a quick, knowing glance between one another.

Lily suddenly straightened herself out and threw a bubble gum pink curl over her shoulder before continuing to hand out more of these 'backstage goodies' as they were effectively labeled.

"Oh! Hang on, can't forget the most important one of all-"

She stepped out of the room quickly, leaving the door wide open as the three peered out to see just what the heck she was taking about. It wasn't until Lily reentered with a giant bouquet of roses in her arms did Dawn's face immediately light up.

The younger coordinator giggled and nudged Misty, "Three guesses as to who that's for"

_'Not me. . . '_ She commented in her head before realizing how snarky her voice had sounded.

Lily pulled the bouquet out and finally handed it to the awaiting arms of May; who eagerly brought the red petals up to her nose to take a big whiff of the scent she had grown so accustomed to.

"Wow, he sure knows how to really whoo a girl," Lily commented.

Dawn peered at the bouquet realizing there was a small, folded white card sticking out from it, "Hey, look there's a card too!"

May followed Dawn's eyes and plucked the square from the flowers, "Yeah but if Drew's not being sweet, he's usually being an ass. That card probably has something sappy like, 'Roses are red, violets are blue, you're kinda cute and I am too'" She recited perfectly.

She placed the bunch of red in her lap before unfolding the card, she only read the first line before grinning, handing over the card to the redhead in front of her.

"What?" Misty asked lamely.

"It's for you," May told her, that sing-songy tone already underlining her voice.

Misty raised an eyebrow, pulling the card from between May's fingers and opening it carefully.

"What's it say? What's it say?" Lily chanted, her and Dawn were already peering over her shoulder with deep interest.

Her cerulean eyes read on.

_'Hey Mist, _

_ Took a card from Drew's playbook considering that it works pretty well (better than Brock's I assume). He let me slip in a note to you and just wanted to say, break a leg in the second act. You're doing a great job!_

_ And, you make a cute mermaid._

_ See you soon! –Ash'_

By the time she finished reading it, she realized she read it again and let a smile rush to her lips as she traced over the last sentence.

She looked up to see May grinning with a bit of a confident look, that she no doubt picked up from Drew, and said, "Well will ya look at that?"

Misty held down her blush as best she could before she folded the paper up in her hands and tossed it onto the vanity table as though it was no big deal.

On that contrary though, it was indeed 'big deal'-whether Misty wanted to admit it or not.

From behind her, no one seemed to notice Lily's excited, if not ecstatic grin as she reeled through the conversation with her sisters to realize that it was the _perfect_ plan for getting things into action. Ash was already taking initiative and growing up, and if their plan succeeded then he'd become a man by the end of the play.

The youngest sister was now more than excited.

. . .

Drew watched Ash pace through their dressing room. Raising an eyebrow he pulled his feet off from the table and stretched his arms, "Dude, stop pacing. There's only half the show left. . . I'm sure you'll be able to make it through" Drew somewhat, tried to console. Even Paul, the one you'd _least_ expect to be a part of a Sensational Sister Production was as calm as ever. However, little did they know that the play was the bulk of Ash's worries.

Pikachu watched his trainer, his eyes following him back and forth. Despite being Ash's number one Pokémon, Pikachu was confined to backstage . . . considering he couldn't exactly hold his breath underwater. Not to mention, some of the little kids in the audience might see Pikachu and instantly think 'Ash!' and Daisy, Lily, and Violet couldn't have that breaking character now could they?

"Do you think it was too much?" He suddenly asked.

Paul raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

Drew snapped his fingers in realization, "Ah, the note you mean?" he leaned back casually in his chair, "No 'course not, if you ask me it was long overdue"

Ash breathed out and ran a hand through his hair, "Then why am I freakin' out? I can take on legendaries and all that but this. . . I'm _freaking_ out" He elaborated and repeated again as if to prove the fact.

From the corner Paul snorted before Ash turned to shoot him a glare, to which he simply just smirked and shook his head disapprovingly.

"You got a better idea? I _like_ her okay? So when you like someone-you tend to show them. That's how it works right?" That was the first time he'd officially admitted his feelings out loud and as liberating as it was, it was also a huge epiphany for him.

He liked Misty.

He really fell for his best friend.

He had become a part of that cliché that everyone had told him would happen.

"I told you, the note was a good idea-she'll read it and be ecstatic, trust me on this" Drew said nonchalantly. Out of the three of them, it was clear that he was the most _smooth_ with the girls, the countless fans and crushes were proof of that.

Paul let out a sigh and then crossed his arms, "Okay, well if you like her then I don't understand why you just don't walk up to her and tell her. That to me seems the most obvious. You're acting like such a girl Ash," He said; figures that a hard hitting trainer like Paul would approach every situation head on.

Drew was quick to rebuttal, the romantic coordinator within him ready to argue, "Yeah like that's any fun. You can either just blatantly tell a girl you like her and have her giggle and say 'Oh, I like you too' _or_, you can have a little fun and make her fall right into your arms," He smirked as though his argument was the best one yet, "Worked for me didn't it?" He grinned.

The Sinnoh Trainer rolled his eyes, "You make it seem so much more dramatic. Just because you decided to fall in love with a girl that was already hooked on you doesn't mean that every girl will put up with all those stupid mind games," Paul said, making a point that was proven to be valid.

"They're not stupid if they work," Drew quipped.

"May's the only exception to that," Paul deadpanned.

"Well I don't see you waltzing up to girls declaring your feelings!" Drew growled.

"Don't like anybody right now," he stated point blank.

Drew laughed and then rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah, that's a load of-"

Ash finally checked back into his brain after watching the two bicker back and forth. He realized that listening to Drew's romantic, mind trickery, crazed tactics and Paul's, straight up, just do it ideas weren't going to help him make a decision in how he should approach Misty.

First off, he didn't want to scare her off-that was the last thing he wanted to do. If he knew things were going to end badly then he'd rather just push aside his feelings and continue being best friends with her, although he wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle the 'just-a-best-friend' situation for too much longer.

Secondly, he so desperately didn't want to screw up. Being best friends they had built up six years of friendship he'd pretty much shown her all his weak points, his biggest fears, goals, and all that. He was completely and totally comfortable around her so if he was going to tell her how he felt . . . he wanted to do it right.

Although according to Drew and Paul, 'right' had two different approaches.

He pulled himself to sit down and shake his head.

_'I'm never going to get anywhere. . . ' _

Pikachu was quick to jump onto Ash's lap and try and console his tormented trainer.

"Pika. . . "

A sudden call cut through the room.

"Ash!"

He turned and immediately recognized Kym as she stood in the door way with hands on her hips.

He looked at Drew and Paul, both seemingly to still be arguing and made the obvious decision to get up and walk over to his friend.

"What's up?" He asked.

She put a finger to her lips and 'shh'-ed him quietly as she seemed to make frequent glances around the backstage dressing room area before she motioned for him to come out of the dressing room. Ash, completely confused at her behavior followed her reluctantly, pulling the curtain to follow her out and letting it fall back to cover the door.

Her blue eyes blinked around in suspicion once more.

"Kym. . ." He began, raising an eyebrow, "Are you feelin' okay?"

She looked up at him, "Me? Oh yeah I'm fine, I just-might have heard something you might want to know," she told him, "In fact, I'm pretty damn sure you'd want to hear this"

That's when Ash's curiosity peaked.

"What's going on?"

She took a deep breath and began her retelling.

"Well, I was backstage earlier, before intermission started. . . "

_She threw her curls over her shoulder as she walked diligently towards the lobby, knowing that during intermission the lobby would be swarming with hungry, hungry kids and curious adults wanting to know more about this play and unfortunately, Daisy had put her on concession duty. _

_ Kym walked past the sound room the three were located in and sighed._

_ "Maybe I can get them to convince Brendan to sell snacks instead. . ."_

_ She began to walk up the steps that lead to the sound room until she heard Daisy's laughter cut through. She slowed down her steps and decided that maybe she shouldn't burst in just yet. _

_ Their voices became clearer as she got closer. _

_"You think I'm hiding something?" She recognized the voice as Daisy's. _

"_We _know_ you're hiding something" Lily's voice interjected. _

_Kym felt her eyebrow raise, "Hiding what?" She muttered quietly as she continued to eavesdrop._

"_So, you know the ending scene, when Ash and Misty get stuck in that cave?" Daisy began._

"_Yeah," Violet responded, "That's the scene they were _supposed _to kiss in but they made us cut it out. Shame too. . . "_

_This wasn't news to Kym, she had known that the kiss scene had been cut-partially because Daisy recognized the anxiety and all the freaking out that came with what would no doubt Ash and Misty's first kiss. Misty seemed the most anxious so being that wonderful big sister, Daisy decided to help Misty and cut the kiss. She really was a good big sister._

"_Well, what if we put it back in?"_

_Or so she thought._

"_Wait, what do you mean? We can't just add the kiss back in-they haven't practiced it, the timing will be all off" Lily cried frantically._

"_Lil', have some confidence in them. I was thinking, all we have to do is just extend that scene and with the lines they'll be saying, it'll be hard _not_ to give each other a little peck!"_

_A sudden giggle emerged before Violet began to speak, "You're right huh? The only cue the others have to start the next scene is the lights, but if we, let's say "forget" to change the lights, then –"_

_Kym could just imagine the grin on Daisy's face, "Exactly. Ash will realize the timing's off and so will Misty but by the time she figures it out, I'm sure Ash'll think of something to extend the scene, and he won't be able to come up with random lines in time,"_

"_And the next thing you know, they'll kiss and then we'll keep the show going. Daisy, you are like, a total genius!"_

_Lily and Violet grinned excitedly as Daisy took the compliments with a grin just as mischievous. _

_Kym, having heard the whole thing realized what they were going to do and couldn't decide on whether or not to spill, or just let it happen, honestly, the plan seemed foolproof. _

Kym finished her story with a breath and brought a hand to push her bangs from her face. She looked at Ash, expecting him to react instantly with anger, surprise, frustration, anything, but as of right now, he stood there with a blank look on his face.

". . . you're kidding right?"

She shook her head, "I _highly_ doubt they were lying" she elaborated.

He let out another breath. Daisy, Violet, and Lily were basically planning to trap him and Misty in a cave, during the show, and force them to kiss so that the play would keep going. As if he wasn't anxious enough over that stupid note. . .

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

Kym brought a hand to smack her forehead, "What? Ash, I told you this plan so you _could_ think of something to do! Think! You're a trainer, act like this is another battle and your opponent just threw in a twist like they used a full restore or switched out their Pokémon or something. . . what are you gonna do?"

Ash shook his head.

"Not another battling analogy, I've already got Paul and Drew arguing about how to 'woo' a girl," He sighed.

Kym snorted, "Wait, they're what?"

"One thinks you should 'tackle' it head on and the other thinks you should 'Petal Dance' your way around a girl's heart" He rolled his eyes, still completely frustrated.

Kym on the other hand, couldn't begin to fathom what the heck he was saying because she let a laugh escape her, "Paul's arguing with Drew about how to. . . get a girl?" She asked slowly, glancing at the room behind them.

"I was equally weirded out" Ash confirmed.

Kym crossed her arms and blinked, "Huh, well that's fun. But anyways-!" She snapped back, "you've got five minutes till intermission starts and only a few scenes before the final moment. Pull yourself together and figure it out-I'm sure whatever you do, it'll be fine" She tried to comfort.

"Did you tell Misty?" Ash suddenly asked.

Kym shook her head, "What are you crazy? That' d freak her out-can't do that to the _star_ of the show, and besides, I'm giving you the upper hand here Ash. This is opportunity knocking so you can either answer or not"

At first he wasn't sure what her words meant but after he thought about it, she was right. He was getting that second chance after their kiss got 'cancelled' and he was sure as hell not going to give up an opportunity like that again.

. . .

Intermission ended five minutes later just as Kym had said and they were all back into character. May, Dawn, Drew, and Paul occupying the stage with the final battle showdown of the play.

"Give us Misty and then just maybe, we'll give your pirate of a friend back!" May shouted rather stubbornly as her trusty Dewgong waded beside her, ready to fight.

Drew narrowed his eyes as he took a step forward on their little floating island, his boots scuffling under his feet. Flygon was his Pokémon of choice as it got into character as well, ready to attack on command.

"Oh, things don't work that way mermaid, sorry. How about you give us Ash first and then we can talk about releasing her"

Dawn looked up timidly at the two pirates before her and pushed her tail to swim behind May, "May, they're going to find out we're nowhere near having their friend as a captive"

That's when Paul took that as his cue. He narrowed his eyes and drew his sword, his Honchkrow perched on a rock behind him, stretched his wings before intimidating calling out at the Lumineon beside Dawn.

Piplup furrowed it's brows as well, ready to take on its next cue.

"They don't have him, Drew," Paul sighed.

Both Drew and May gave a look of surprise before simultaneously shouting, "What!"

Dawn shook her head, "I _told _you!"

Drew turned to glare directly at May, "Is this true?" May however, said nothing as she kept her gaze hard. She was firm on keeping in character and she flinched slightly as Drew bent down letting an evil smirk spread across his lips and bringing his sword up to May's neck lightly, "You're a pretty bad liar aren't ya?"

May furrowed her brows before uttering three words, "Dewgong, Aurora Beam!"

"Deww gong, gong!" The familiar Cerulean City Gym Pokémon nodded and threw its head back before realizing a beautiful, yet colorful beam straight at Drew.

He managed to dodge it as the beam zeroed in on their prop ship instead, freezing it over in an instant.

Drew stood up with a glare, "Okay, you asked for it" He turned to Paul and nodded.

Before the audience knew it, a double battle had just begun and they were more than excited.

May fought against Drew's Flygon, while Dawn called her Piplup against Paul's Honchkrow that both her and her Piplup were more than already acquainted with.

The four began calling attacks and although this fight was coordinated and completely staged, which was challenging considering Paul's Pokémon didn't exactly know how to "take it easy", the audience ate it all up. Kids were cheering on their already favorite contenders, the little boys rooting for Flygon and Honchkrow obviously, while the girls cheered for Piplup and Dewgong.

"Piplup, use Hydro Pump!" Dawn commanded.

Piplup nodded and performed the well mastered move, unleashing a powerful stream of water straight at Paul's Honchkrow who seemed to watch the jet carefully and hovered in the sky with ease. Paul watched the attack with dare he say, awe. He would have never expected a small Pokémon such as Piplup to learn one of the most powerful water moves out there, let alone, Dawn to be able to teach it to her starter who was still in its first evolutionary stage. He caught his thoughts as he realized he was putting Dawn down again, it should have been clear that she proved herself as trainer a while ago and at this moment, he realized that he was. . . proud of her.

He pushed away his thoughts quickly and it wasn't until the last second that Paul shouted a command.

"Honchkrow! Dodge that and hit Piplup straight on with your Dark Pulse!"

Honckrow nodded and obeyed his commands with ease, turning in the sky to dive down parallel to the Hydro Pump, skillfully dodging it.

"Krrrow!" It called as the dark beam emerged from its mouth, hitting the water and Piplup dead on., well or so it seemed. Piplup ducked under the water just like it was told during rehearsals just in time not only dodge the attack but make it look as though it had been hit.

"Piplup!" Dawn cried out. The crowd seemed to share her worry as she dove down to pull her Piplup back up the surface.

"Pip," it cried weakly as Dawn cradled her beloved Pokémon in her arms.

Paul jumped down from the small rock he stood on and held his arm out for Honchkrow to land threateningly, the battle obviously being a piece of cake.

He looked down and Dawn and let a small smirk emerge, "Looks like I won"

An small explosion cut through their conversation as Dawn realized that May and Drew were still fighting, meaning that they still had a chance of winning.

For the most part, May and Drew's battles were nothing short of a full on contest battle-something they were more than happy to perform. Granted, it was a bit harder for May to adapt and collaborate partially because she was fighting with Misty's Dewgong.

May clenched her fists, "Oh, don't be so sure. His battle is only just beginning, you're on our turf pirates and there is no way, we're going to let you win," Just as she said that, all the water Pokemon beneath them rose to the surface ready to fight. All the Goldeen, Seaking, Starmie, Staryu, Corsola, Politoad, and for themost part, the bulk of Misty's Pokémon cried out in support and were angry and ready to fight, only further proving May's statement.

This battle has only just begun.

. . .

The two stood there, waiting anxiously with their feet in the water, waiting to jump back in and finish the play. The light reflected off the small cavern they waited in, completely hidden from the audience-the lines and attacks from the others were loud and clear though.

Misty kicked her tail lightly and sighed, "I'm nervous" she breathed.

Ash turned to her lightly, "Didn't think you got nervous" He teased as he bent his head down slightly to try and capture her eyes with his.

She laughed and nudged him, "Don't act so surprised. Acting isn't exactly my forte and even though I'm pretty good at it," She smirked, "I still get nervous. I want to end it with a bang so; I guess I'm afraid of messing up our scene"

Ash gulped. Oh, the infamous scene. . .

"It's just me, Misty. If you forget a line, I'll try and find it in me to forgive you" He joked once again, only this time, she didn't simply roll her eyes and shout to defend herself.

He watched her carefully.

"It's not the lines I'm worried about messing up"She muttered.

"Misty-" Ash began to interject, wanting to ask her what she meant but Drew's voice cut through their small cave.

"Use Dragon Breath!"

That was their cue to jump into the water and get ready, as the scene was going to cut directly to them. So without another word, Misty submerged herself into the water, hoping that her element would calm her down but in truth, it had little effect.

Ash stayed up on the rock considering he wasn't the one who was supposed to be in the water but as the final act approached he couldn't help but think-was here something she wanted to say?

And possibly, just maybe, would it have something do with what he was about to do?

Before he could think anymore an explosion was heard which he knew was the sound of Flygon's Dragaon Breath and Honchkrow's Shadow Ball colliding with Dewgong's Waterfall and Lumineon's Blizzard. The lights blacked out soon after, indicating the end of their scene and the start of theirs.

He took a breath.

_'This is it, Ash. Don't freak out, don't freak out, just stay calm' _He told himself.

He glanced up at Misty, managing to catch a glimpse of her as the small underwater light in their cavern illuminated the pool beneath them. Her tiara glistened slightly and her hair fell past her shoulders, swaying in the water with ease. Her face however, had the same features he had grown so accustomed to, only with a elegant feature to it all. She had grown up wonderfully, and he had in a sense grown up as well-but not as beautifully as she did he commented to himself.

She was _gorgeous_, he realized and as she looked up at him and offered him a smile, he grinned back.

He knew what he had to do now, and boy, was he ready.

. . .

**A/N: BOOM. Done with this chapter, the longest one yet and for rushing the hell out of it, I think it's pretty damn good. This was written just because I got the sudden urge and idea to continue-only took me three days so sorry for mistakes and OOC-ness , if there is any (hopefully not). Just to clear up some things, May and Dawn are using 'prop' Pokémon, i.e borrowing Misty's because they don't have water types so don't think May suddenly got a Dewgong and what not. But anyways, you guys have asked for it so here it is, I can only thank my faithful reviewers for not being fed up with the lack of updates.**

**Next chapter will be the final conclusion and climax so stay tuned!**

**R&R**

**XoXo-Contest3Ribbon-XoXo **


	8. Bravo

**A/N: Wow, it's been a while hasn't it? Again no excuse for the lack of update but I promise this is a story I plan to finish. **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Pokemon! **

**. . .**

The four of them were walking backstage, May and Dawn using a towel to somewhat dry their hair while Paul and Drew were shaking the water from their ears – not that it mattered, they'd be submerged again in a matter of minutes. Their battle scene had ended, or at least, had taken a break and the four of them had a few minutes before they had to reappear.

For now, the spotlight was on two other characters.

They all huddled backstage and shamelessly peered at Ash and Misty. Dawn would call it harmless snooping, while May would say they just needed a 'better view of the stage', and the guys honestly just wanted to see how their friend would play his cards.

"This is it!" Dawn whispered but couldn't help a giggle escape her lips as she nudged May. Though the kiss was claimed to be taken out, she was still holding on. The two peeked excitedly to catch a glimpse of the two in their cavern and though there was no kiss, it was still a highly anticipated scene.

"Years from now when their kids asked when was their first kiss, they'll say-" May began to fantasize but Paul cut in with the most dreary and skeptical of tones.

"It was in a dark, damp, underwater cave and we had no choice?" he offered.

Drew shook his head, "We'll tweak it a little bit and the kids will love it" he shrugged.

Brendan suddenly popped into their small space and grinned, "You guys doing okay?" he was going back and forth between running the concessions and checking up backstage. Since the climax was nearing, the lobby was empty and the audience was glued to their seats.

"Perfect!" May cried enthusiastically before turning her attention back to the scene about to unfold.

Dawn suddenly sighed and looked around carefully, "Actually have you seen Kym? I think a few pearls are falling off my tail," she muttered, lifting up the damp fabric slightly.

He thought for a bit and shook his head, "No sorry, the last time I saw her she said she was going to go talk to Daisy, Lily, and Violet about something" he recalled.

"Oh," Dawn slightly slumped.

"Do you want me to go get her?" he offered.

"No, I'm sure she'll be back in a few seconds," Dawn concluded, soon turning her attention towards the same line of sight as May's.

. . .

"This is all your fault you know, if you hadn't of kidnapped me and run away, my friends and your pirate idiots wouldn't be engaged in an all-out war right now!" she shouted.

Her curls pooled around her as she pushed herself towards the edge of the cave's walls. Her brows were knitted, cerulean gaze on fire with anger, and tone sharp and harsh.

Ash on the other hand sat carefully on the small sandy bank, his feet dipped in the water as he had his arms draped across his knees.

He was supposed to be playing the character of a pirate who realizes how much this mermaid means to him, and how he tries to do anything just to get her to come closer so he can finally tell her the truth and of course his feelings – (Daisy was quite adamant in adding in that happily ever after element). He shivered a bit, his wet clothes settling into the cold and also from his nerves. His character's story was surprisingly parallel to his own.

He cleared his throat before speaking, "Look, we both know that if you wanted to escape you could have," he said.

She growled and moved forward, pulling herself up on the bank, "Excuse me?" she asked.

He frowned, "You heard me," he said, leaning forward, "Don't pick this moment to act all innocent. You're a powerfully, magical creature while I'm just a measly pirate, you could've easily knocked me out or drowned me and been on your merry way," He accused.

Misty pulled herself up slightly, "And just what are you suggesting by it?"

Sudden memories ran through his head, from the moment she fished him out of that river up until the day she left. She had stayed with him through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto; being the strong, independent, head-strong girl she was, she could have left anytime but she _didn't._ Though that part was easy to see, he couldn't quite understand the _why._ He had some theories, or rather hopes but stuck to the idea that she just really wanted that damn bike.

But lately, he began to think that maybe the bike wasn't the whole point here.

"You wanted to stay."

That line wasn't in the script, but he said it before he realized what had happened.

It was like a realization that finally hit him.

Misty furrowed her brows slightly, in confusion rather than anger and was a bit taken aback by his ad lib but she proceeded with the next part. Amidst his silent epiphany and little mid-mid-life crisis he had been oblivious to Misty's actions.

She growled and reached up to pull his collar and before he knew it, she pulled him right into the water.

_'Right . . .how could I forget this?' _He reminded himself and tried to put his head back into the scene as he kicked to the surface. This move was labeled as "Misty dunks Ash in water" in the script and though they had practiced it several times it caught him surprisingly off guard.

When he resurfaced he took in a break and greeted Misty's fuming face.

"You _pirate!"_ she gritted, "How dare you even think that I wanted to stay with _you!_ You creatures really do have high egos because to even think such a thing is ridiculous-!" She was wonderful actress, had every audience member hanging on her every word.

And though Ash admired her talent, he couldn't pass this chance up to get some answers.

"Then lie to me," he spoke, again adlibbing, "Tell me that you couldn't escape,"

Misty was frozen slightly. She gave him a look that screamed 'what are you doing?' but he ignored it. He reached forward amidst the water and pulled her wrists.

In an attempt to keep the scene flowing, Misty struggled.

"Tell me that you hate me," he commanded pulling her closer. Though the water was her turf, he found it extremely easy to pull her against him.

"I-" she fumbled for her words.

Ash mentally scolded himself as he advanced. He knew her sisters were going to kill him for messing up, quite possibly the best scene in the script but, he couldn't stop. He was an impulsive guy, he made impulsive decisions 90% of the time, and from that percentage, only 40% was good. He wasn't sure if this would be one of them or not.

"And tell me, you didn't enjoy every second we spent together," he whispered to her, one hand keeping her wrist clenched and the other moved to the small of her back as he pushed her into him. The soft ebb and flow of the water filled their scene with miscellaneous noise and just like the audience, he waited for her response.

. . .

"Let me GO!"

"Oh, I don't think so!"

Kym made another futile attempt to break free of Violet and Lily's hold as she moved her arm towards the lighting system. What she couldn't fathom is why the hell she decided to climb back into this box and try to stop them from executing their little plan.

But after thinking about it some more, she realized she couldn't let Daisy, Lily, and Violet execute their little 'force-Ash-and-Misty-to-kiss' idea. She understood where they were coming from, hell she wanted those two to get together just as badly as they did but this was _not_ the way to make that happen. And with Ash in the pool in the middle of the play it wasn't like he could really do much to stop it.

Knowing Daisy, she'd do everything in her power to make sure that kiss would happen, no matter how uncomfortable her baby sister felt.

It only took a few minutes for her motives to be discovered and Lily and Violet were suddenly trying to keep her from ruining their _piece de resistance_, as they called it. Violet kept her hold on the young trainer's right arm while Lily had her left. They kept her subdued in a chair in the corner of the room while Daisy guarded the tech board with a glare.

Kym blew a stray strand that had fallen in front of her face and sighed, trying the reasonable good cop approach rather than the aggressive, 'move or I will personally shove you to the ground' bad cop approach, "Guys listen, you can't do this to Misty, she's your baby sister! When they're ready they'll go for it but for now-!" she moved to make another attempt but didn't get very far.

"We appreciate your concern Kym but this is the only way, besides, it's a fool-proof plan," Daisy smiled, flicking a blonde curl over her shoulder.

She scoffs and cocks a brow, "Clearly you have inhaled too much hairspray because you guys are, _insane,"_ Kym declared, settling back into her prison of a chair.

"You just don't dream big enough," Lily chided with a grin just as wide as her sisters.

Kym rolled her eyes, _'Sorry guys, I tried' _she commented.

"You wanted to stay," Ash's voice came over the speakers and those four little words were enough to catch Daisy's full attention as she grabbed the script and began to furiously flip through the pages.

"He did _not_ just say that," she frantically muttered, her eyes moving incredulously from the script to the scene.

Violet raised a brow and slowly but surely, Kym felt their grip loosening.

"What is he doing?" Lily muttered as she moved forward.

Apparently, Ash was making up lines, completely going off the script. This was something that the Sensational Sisters clearly couldn't handle but what probably shocked them the most was the fact that they couldn't do anything from their tiny little, director's box.

It only took two seconds for all of them to lunch forward towards the front window and watch frantically as their scene, the epitome of their play go downhill.

Kym takes the opportunity to push her way between Daisy and Lily and squinted her blue eyes at the two figures in the pool.

_'Yeah, what _are_ you guys doing?'_

Daisy watched in horror as a silent moment passed between them; she was literally about to come undone and Kym didn't know if it was all warranted or just straight up overdramatic. The three of them start to fumble around as the brief pause seems to stretch out longer and that's when Kym decides she needed to get the three overreacting directors away from the control system as soon as possible.

"You _pirate!"_ they finally hear Misty shout back, "How dare you even think that I wanted to stay with _you-!_"

"She's adlibbing back?" Violet shouts as Kym begins to push them back into their respective seats. She keeps the control panel in front of her though and is thankful that they're more fixated on what was happening in the pool than what she was attempting to do.

As the next lines unfold she can't help but be captivated at the scene they're creating-sure it was off script but it wasn't like the audience knew that and by the way he grabs her forward and she inclines her head ever so slightly at him, Kym finds herself smirking triumphantly.

"And tell me, you didn't enjoy every second we spent together," She watches as Ash whispers it to her ears, a seemingly private moment between the two that immediately touches the hearts of many. Despite this crazy roller coaster ride that was dubbed an 'Original Sensational Sisters Production', things were actually going pretty good right about now.

. . .

Panic pumped through her veins. This was a new type of nervous that she had never felt before, sure she was a Gym Leader but there was difference between the Butterfries in your stomach before a battle and the Beautiflies going crazy when you were about to embarrass yourself in front of hundreds of people.

She wasn't trained for acting so she didn't know what to do.

The way his hand rested on her back didn't help her concentration. His palm was big, soft, and slow as he occasionally let his fingers tap lightly on her spine, sending small shivers through her.

If it weren't for the fact that the lights were blinding and their extravagant costumes, it would be just another awkward, flirtatious tension-filled moment with them. How they even managed to stay afloat, in such a stagnant position was beyond her, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

Misty took a breath and forced herself to think quick on her feet.

"Well, then you tell me why you still kept me in captivity when I refused to grant your wish?" she was playing along, deciding to pull in some more plot points, hoping that Ash had just blanked on his lines and that by doing so, she'd be helping him out. Overall, she was trying to "fix" the scene with a different approach, but his sudden tense posture indicated that she maybe didn't get something right.

Ash sighed-she wasn't picking up on what he was trying to say. If only she could read between the lines…

"Looks like we've both been lying to ourselves then huh?" He settles.

Now that did it.

The way he said it didn't sound like something a pirate would say, it sounded like something _Ash _would say, her Ash.

Though the context was off, the words struck familiarity. She hated to admit but she finally realized that for the longest time she had been lying to herself. But there was no way he was bringing up their . . . relationship? Was he? Especially at a time like this? There was no way, it was impossible.

Ash would never.

But then again, he had been proving that he wasn't the same 10-year old that the world knew him as anymore.

"Oh just kiss her!" An audience member shouted, causing a ripple of laughter to flow through the auditorium.

They both found themselves chuckling.

Thanks to Ash's improv this scene was going downhill fast. Neither even knew where to pick up with the real script and the crowd was getting antsy. But Misty felt like a Stantler in headlights; she was now paralyzed by impending realization and inability to form a coherent answer to Ash's words.

She tensed up and Ash felt it, the situation was in his hands now so he did what he had to do-_wing it. _

He knew he had gotten his point across to her, unfortunately at the expense of the scene and possibly the whole ending but he couldn't spend too much time thinking about that, he just had to fix it and get things moving back on track. So he pulled himself back into character and then restarted his adlibbing process, praying he didn't fumble his words.

"And to be honest, I've never liked liars," he says, grinning once again.

He begins to pull away realizing that he had gotten a tad bit too close to her before and for the sake of the scene, chooses to end it there but it isn't until he feels her arms wrap around him does her freeze.

"Me neither."

And the crowd goes wild as she softly presses her lips against his.

As if he had any reaction time before, there is even _less_ time for him to process the kiss as the lights go black and after a few seconds the spotlight is turned back towards the others. He reels himself back in; it was all a show, oh yeah.

But _damn_ did he give it five stars.

Their cavern was pitch dark and it wasn't until they feel Misty's Corsola surface with a couple of hand-sized rebreathers for the pair do they realize that they needed to get out of the cave and put their heads back in the game. Misty grabs her's first and bites down on it and Ash suddenly, isn't sure if she went ahead of him but when he feels her hand tug him underwater he feels a wave of relief.

They swim through a small tunnel and back up to the same platform they emerged from last time. Corsola chirps happily as she notes that the two made it and dives back into the water for her small appearance.

Only now do they sit in a private, soft, silence and finally process what the hell exactly happened out there.

If they weren't speechless before, this moment could give that last scene a run for its money.

It's finally Ash who speaks first.

"Wow, that was-" he stops, realizing that was probably not the best way to react.

Misty brings a hand up to push some damp hair back and then groans, "Probably not a good idea…" How embarrassing was it to have your first kiss with the guy you were head over heels in love with, on tape and in front of hundreds of people…

His face falters, if just for a moment but she's quick to defend.

"No! No I mean that wasn't how I was picturing that to be at _all,_" she explains, still can't believing she decided to "man up" and just go in for the kiss. It wasn't like her at all, she was always 'the think first then act' person, Ash was the 'act first think later guy'. She supposed just being around him again made his traits rub off on her.

Another grin is spread onto his face, "So you've pictured what our first kiss would be like?" he asks, not teasing, not coy, but equally curious and happy.

She reaches out to punch him lightly in the arm but her pouting face is all the answer he needs. He's chuckling and brining a hand up behind his neck before she has a chance to respond.

"Look, I'm not going to try and tiptoe around this so I'm just going to be honest," he says, calculating that even though Drew, May, Dawn, and Paul's scene still had a few more lines, he just had to get this off his chest, "I like you-and I know that this," he motions at their surroundings and at the fact that they're both in costume, dripping wet, "isn't the most practical or ideal situation to be having a conversation as heavy as this but I'd take chlorine in my ears and you wearing a mermaid tail over having to wait another day," he tells her.

And he most definitely doesn't miss that smile that graces her lips when he's done talking.

"I had a hard enough time straightening out my feelings, I didn't think I'd be able to keep it in for very long," he confesses and she laughs.

"And here I was," she speaks, her voice brining relief to his nerves, "Worried that this play would mess everything up-would mess _us_ up," she says.

He shakes his head, disagreeing with her completely, "You'll always be my best friend," he tells her, his intensity suddenly matching the determination in his eyes during a battle, "And you'll always be the first," he tells her, reaching an arm out, draping it around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest as much as he possibly could.

Being first meant a lot of things-she was (or one of) his first traveling companions, she was the first trainer he had really wanted to beat, she was his first best friend, she was the first one he really cared for, and she was the first one who left him and had created an irreplaceable void in his life. In retrospect he supposes that she's the first one he really ever fell for too.

He chuckles realizing that maybe he was being too dramatic-he was already fourteen by the time Misty left so technically he was a "big boy" and he should have been able to handle himself but, he guessed it took her leaving to make him realize how much she meant to him. Absence _did_ make the heart grow fonder.

She breathes a sigh of relief and turns to press her lips against the base of his neck, shutting her eyes and taking a breath that synced her breathing up to his. It wasn't supposed to be a kiss and it wasn't supposed to be a seductive, flirtatious move, it was just her way of telling him that she was _grateful_ for what he had just said-those were the words she had been waiting to hear all along.

He turns towards her slightly and this time, plants a kiss to her forehead. It doesn't even occur to him how quickly the two fall into this cuddling-kissy persona, it was all incredibly natural for him and her and as an impulsive guy, who was he to ignore his instincts?

"You know we're going to have to go back out there," she mutters, laughing as he groans.

"It's almost over, I can deal," he tells himself. She pulls away, straightening herself up and before she can attempt to pull herself up in her ridiculously hard to walk in, latex and shiny tail, Ash's hands are in front of her in an instant.

She grabs onto them and he helps her up with ease. There's a brief moment where they look at each other and even though they're not completely done with this conversation, they're both content with the point they're at right now.

"We're not done talking about this-_us_," she corrects, "Nowhere near close," she tells him.

This for the most part was true, he still had so many things to say and she had so many questions to ask. This moment was a long time coming so all those pent up feelings were just asking to be let out but, as previously stated, this was not the best time.

But for now, they could both live with stolen glances, butterfly kisses, and the overwhelming scent of chlorine.

. . .

To say the crowd was ecstatic would be an understatement. They had been so enthralled with each part of the play, from the introductions, the battles, and of course, the kiss. Now, they were ready to ride the whole thing out and waited patiently, but excitedly for the end.

Everyone was so wrapped up in it, it was hard to believe that underneath the costumes and characters, they were just a few teenagers who got roped into this charade by complete accident.

When Ash and Misty emerged back into he spotlight the crowd cheered incessantly and they didn't miss the knowing glances and grins of their fellow cast members. But, despite her urge to wipe those smiles off their faces and save herself the embarrassment, she calmed down-she figured the play could only suffer so much improvisation.

The scene had only just started and with the climax over, they knew they had to finish it all with a bang.

Drew's line was next and he took a step forward, crossing his arms incredulously, "You mean to tell me that this whole time-you actually fell for that, that little mermaid?" the play on words was not missed by the children in the audience, but the rest seemed equally invested in the scene.

Ash held up his hands slightly, almost as if to calm Drew down, "Believe me, it wasn't intentional," he begins, "But sometime things happen. We've dedicated our whole lives to hunting them down and using them as objects for our personal gain but we never once, stopped to think how wrong we were," he tells him.

Daisy, Lily, and Violet were sure to add a moral to the story, one that was relevant to any situation-and in this case, it was an 'us vs. them' theme. Sure mermaids and pirates weren't exactly going toe to toe anymore in the present day but they wanted to audience to take it as a lesson, one that taught little kids to play nice and be compassionate and thought it was a _bit_ cheesy, all audience members enjoyed it nonetheless.

"He's right," Misty chorused, turning back towards May and Dawn, who both looked at her with eager eyes. They all sat on the rocks, in a similar fashion to storybook sirens while the pirates stood across from them. She reaches out to them and grasps their hands, reciting her next words with perfection, "We were no different than them and it sickens me. From now on, I need this to stop, this rivalry needs to disappear and I'm making it a royal decree," she proudly states.

The crowd gasps slightly in shock and slight whispers and claps were heard.

Ash's eyes widen as he mimics the crowd's reactions, "You're the mermaid princess," he mutters breathlessly, "So all those legends were true," he states.

The audience ties together the scenes and recalls; the pirates sought out mermaids for their ability to lead them to great treasure and grant them a wish. They were fueled by a legend known as 'An Underwater Tale'-so strategically named by Daisy, and searched the seas to capture these creatures.

This "legend" told of where to find the mermaids and the riches that would be in tow-but also mentioned a royal princess who would bring more than just material goods, but rather peace and harmony to whomever she trusted.

The crowd fills with an excited murmur as they piece it all together-May and Dawn had indeed brought Drew and Paul gold, jewels, pearls, and one hell of a battle but, it was Misty, who played the role of the princess who brought peace between two enemy parties and harmony to the land and seas.

All hypothetical of course, this _was_ just a play.

Dawn had to keep her wild grins in check for this was her favorite part of the entire play.

A soft, melodic soundtrack begins to play in the background as the scene is close to its end. All the water Pokémon begin to surface and crowd around in a well-staged semi-circle around the cast.

"Normally legends are nothing but stuffy, glorified fairytailes but in this case, I am happy to inform you pirates," she says the word with a grin rather than a scowl, "that you have helped change history, and if I hadn't of met you," her eyes fall onto Ash, to whom she reaches out for and he walks up to her in an instant, "Then this never would have happened," she motions around them.

The Goldeen and Seaking cry out triumphantly while the others begin to whirl around excitedly.

"You know, I could get used to this whole peace thing," Drew speaks, earning a few laughs from the audience, but the only laugh he really cares about is May's. She chimes in with the audience and flips her tail around in the water, leaning back on her arms.

"Well, we have those two to thank," she motions back towards Ash and Misty and helps bring the focus and spotlight back to them.

Dawn finally lets out her giggle, and though she's lounging on her stomach, head in her arms on the rock, she flips her tail back in the cutest of gestures as she sighs dreamily, "They make a great team huh?" Piplup chirms happily from the water beneath her but it's Paul's sudden presence beside her that really catches the eyes of the crowd.

"We all do," he says. When a few sections of the audience 'aww' he immediately pulls his gaze away from Dawn, almost embarrassed and thankful that Misty and Ash have the ending lines of the play.

"So let's do this again sometime, _princess,_" Ash speaks.

Misty looks at him right in the eyes and then has to pull away before she starts laughing, she knows he would have done the same and she supposes that this play was a bit ridiculous but she was appreciative regardless.

Ash tightens his grip on her hands as if to tell her to pull it together and she looks back up at him; there's a moment when the audience thinks and _waits_ for her to surprise kiss him again but she knows she's not going to. She'd rather not have the very start of their relationship be on camera, on display, and done entirely in costume.

But she throws her arms around him in a hug that makes the audience just as happy and replies with soft, "You have my word, _pirate." _

And on cue, her Gyrados and Brendan's Milotic leap from the water, creating two adjacent bridges that frame the ending scene. Dawn's Piplup then starts the round of spectacular bubblebeams that suddenly help fill the stadium with sparkling bubbles that float into the audience and with the Shelder, Cloyster, Goldeen, and all the others blowing up streams of water guns, it was a great water show to quite possibly the greatest play the Sensational Sisters had ever put on.

The lights black out and the music comes to a finish and the crowd gives them all a standing ovation.

. . .

The lobby and entrance was just as packed, if not more so, as the start of the play. They had all lined up accordingly, Ash, Misty, Drew, May, Dawn, and Paul and greeted and thanked every person that came up to them.

Little girls gushed at the 'mermaids' while the boys were more than excited to meet the 'pirates', both wanting pictures with their favorite trainers and coordinators underneath the costumes. Families praised them for their performances and many said it was the best thing they had seen in a long time. Their Pokémon stood beside them, also sharing the spotlight-Piplup chirped away at every little kid who came up to shake hands, rather fins with it while Misty stood proudly with her Corsola in her arms and Azumarill and Starmie at her side.

Drew's Flygon growled happily alongside his usual partner, Masquerain as young couples recognized the coordinator and his prized, contest winning knock out Pokémon while Paul kept Honchkrow at bay. The dark, flying type wasn't so used to a never ending parade of praise and over-smothering so he sat contently on his trainer's arm, stretching his wings every now and again.

Kym peered behind the doorway, saying a standard, "Thank you so much for coming, have a good night," to each person that left with a satisfied grin.

She had to admit that this was a good distraction in all that training she'd been doing lately and she didn't mean to toot her own horn but come _on,_ all the girls looked fabulous. She stole another glance at her creations to see May motioning at her costume and grinning madly to a pair of audience members who looked on starry eyed.

She felt herself smile triumphantly.

"Hey," she turned to see Brendan fill in next to her, hands in his pockets, shoulders back, "Guess we did pretty good on publicizing this whole thing huh?" he commented as the sea of people leaving just kept coming.

She almost laughed at the memory, "Guess so," she mused.

They felt two arms hook around them and pull them in and they turned to see Violet pulling them in as tight as she could, "You guys should totally tech _all _of our plays!" Violet suggested with a grin a mile wide batting her lashes oh so swiftly. Daisy and Lily filled in in front of them, each with a similar look on their faces.

It didn't take them too long to answer.

"Well I've got the League to train for-" she immediately stated.

"And my dad needs me to help out with the researching stuff…" He nearly fumbled over his words.

It was fun but the 'once-in-your-life' kind of fun.

The pout on their faces isn't took hard to miss.

"Oh too bad, you guys made a great team," Daisy comments, or rather taunts and then turns to greet and a thank you a few more people.

Daisy is the one who comes up to them though and gives the two young trainers a hug, "Seriously though, thanks you guys," she says wholeheartedly. For a brief moment they're both shocked that there isn't a 'like' or 'ohmygod' in there somewhere but hug her back.

They don't hesitate to speak again this time.

"Wasn't a problem," Brendan says politely and graciously.

"We're really going to miss it," Kym adds.

Daisy sends her gratitude once more before tittering off with her sisters to go greet some more fans and what looked like, potential investors…

She doesn't however miss the shy grin on the Brendan's face as mutter something else and pulls Kym into a hug.

"Oh the _romance," _Lily sang devilishly, coming up beside Daisy, hooking her arm with her older sister's. Violet was soon on the other side and joined her sisters and by the grin on her face, shared the same sentiments and emotions.

"Seriously, at the rate we're going we might as well open up a dating service," Daisy joked as the three sisters started in a chorus of laughter.

Though the main cast hadn't heart this light hearted suggestion, they were sure to be okay with them _not_ doing so.

_"Pika-"The_ electric mouse purrs as a young boy reaches out to scratch him behind the ears.

Misty nearly died of cuteness when he came up to Ash, clinging onto his mother's pant leg, and was so nervous to ask him for a hug and a picture. Ash however, wouldn't let him get away with just that so he immediately whips out the charm-not that he really needed to-and drops to his knees to be eye level with the boy.

And of _course_ this boy's favorite Pokémon was Pikachu.

He laughed as Pikachu stuck his nose up in his hand and licked it accordingly.

"See look at that, he likes you already," Ash gushed, "I'm sure as soon as you become a trainer you'll be a _great_ one and all your Pokémon will just love you," he tells him and by the look in his eyes and the sincere smile on his face, Misty knew that Ash's wasn't lying.

"Marcus, what do you say?" His mom chided gently behind him and he nodded as if he had suddenly remembered.

"Oh! Um thank you Mr. Ketchum," he says, throwing his arms around Ash again and giving Pikachu another pat on the head, "Goodbye Pikachu," he laughs.

"Pika-chuu," he squeals raising a paw to wave at the young six year old boy.

Ash rises to his full height again and shakes the mother's hand as she begins to take their leave and praise the two on their performance.

They are about to leave when Marcus, the boy suddenly darts in front of Misty with his hands behind his back and his eyes on the ground. She almost doesn't catch it but she hears him say a quick, "You're really pretty!" But before she can say thanks he's back by his mother's side, clutching onto her hand.

She exchanges a smile with the mother as she ushers out of the lobby with another goodbye.

She hears Ash's chuckle beside her, "Don't tell me you can't get used to something like this?" he jokes, placing his arm subconsciously at the small of her back as he takes a step closer to her and continues to wave at the fans (If no one knew any better, they were just like the perfect characters that walked around Disneyland).

She laughs and then recomposes herself and nudges towards the three coordinators to her left, "Um I'll let those three handle the spotlight," she comments.

Ash turns and notes that they were indeed 'handling that spotlight' as May twirled extravagantly in her costume, showing it off for the mini audience that seemed to crowd around her, Drew, and Dawn while Drew was taking pictures with fans-of all ages mind you, with Flygon and Masquerain in tow, and Dawn giggling away as she was chatting it up with an elderly couple that happened to be from Sinnoh.

"Well you didn't look half bad in it," he tells her.

She stops herself from turning to him completely slack-jawed.

"Did you just flirt with me?" She whispers at him instead, realizing that that line was way more suave and smooth than anything he had ever said to her before, not including their impromptu "confession" backstage.

He turns back to her, suddenly nervous and confused, "Why, am I doing it wrong?" he asks, completely curious and concerned.

She can't stop the laugh that escapes her lips when he asks and the next then she realizes her arms are around him and she's laughing into the crook of his neck. His hands place themselves perfectly around her waist as he pulls back a bit, trying to not laugh as he speaks, "No really, was that bad?"

She shakes her head and one hand rests on his shoulder while the other reaches up to let her fingers brush lightly against his neck and cheek, "No, no I liked it-gonna take some getting used to I guess. Two days ago I would've thought food was still your first priority," she mutters.

"Yeah well, it'll be taking a permanent back seat from now on," he tells her. To anyone else that would have been just a little joke that you could laugh at then brush off but to Misty she knew what that meant. It wasn't so much of the fact that he was literally shifting food from his top priorities list, it was more of the fact that she was now at the top of it and his Ash way, that's how he was telling her.

She pulls her arms in and pulls herself closer against him and the two almost rock slowly to an imaginary soft rhythm.

A little over a month ago, if someone told her that a ridiculous play put on by her sisters would turn out as _amazing_ as this she would have laughed in their face. But now she had everything she had ever wanted-her best friend back and his role in her life had just taken a drastic but much anticipated turn.

Sure they still had a few things to work out but for now, they were both blissfully happy in just being able to enjoy each other's company as something _more _rather than as the best friends who don't know what to do with their developing feelings. And as Ash let his hands draw light cirlces on her back and her breath tickled his neck, they were both blissfully happy indeed.

Unknown to them, the lobby had cleared out and the rest of their cast had congregated to the center of the room.

It was Drew's sharp whistle that cut through the lobby and caught their attention, "Okay lovebirds, you save the cuddling for _after," _he chides.

Ash looks around and notices Pikachu on May's shoulder, sharing the same little smile as the rest. Misty nods at her sisters and they all share this kind of quiet, but excited look between the four of them. They knew what their play had essentially done for their baby sister but instead of running around saying 'told you so' they just smiled and were sure to congratulate her later.

"We're going out to eat!" Dawn exclaimed, "I've never eaten anywhere in Cerulean before," she says, Piplup chirps as if to reinforce the point.

"Well there's this fabulous seaside restaurant that overlooks the cove, its five stars and after the performance tonight, we all deserve it," Daisy tells them.

"Perfect I'm starving," May exclaims as they all begin to shuffle back to the showers and dressing rooms.

"Wait, don't think you're leaving yet," Lily calls out and there she is again, with the camera in her hands and immediately she'll telling everyone to shuffle together.

They all kind of fall into place with Misty and Ash in the middle, Drew's arm slung over May's shoulder, and Paul standing behind, but close to Dawn. It was like it was automatic and they supposed the play maybe did have something to do with that.

Kym and Brendan kick Lily off camera duty and tell them to join the picture considering they were the co-writers, creators, and directors of the show. They fill in happily and nearly twenty pictures later they're all laughing again while scrolling through candids and the group shots.

If it wasn't time to eat before, _now_ was the time and they all bolt back to the showers in record time. It isn't until Ash reaches out to pull Misty back does she realize that he still had something to say. He puts her hands back around his neck and places his palms on the curve of her waist, the exact same position they were in before, before Drew had interrupted them.

She feels the heat rise to her cheeks as she grinned up at him, cerulean meeting chocolate brown.

"Yes?" she asks rather lamely.

"Let's try _this_ again-no lights, no cameras, no lobby full of people just me," he pauses to grin, "and you."

She doesn't miss the way his grip tightens around her and he sure as hell doesn't miss the way she trails her lips up from his neck to his lips. She kisses him swiftly at first, just a soft peck and pulls back but he's chasing her down faster than she realizes.

Now _this_, is what their first kiss should have been like and it seems like Ash is enthusiastically trying to make it so. Up until now she never understood how couples were on each other all the time and she most definitely wasn't the most girly girl you'd ever meet but, with a rush that he was giving her and the soft spark in his touch she was beginning to understand.

Sure she didn't wake up from an eternal slumber, nor did she turn a frog into a prince but she had something better than those age old fairy tales.

She had Ash and Ash had her. She was his princess and he was her pirate and this, was their Underwater Tale.

. . .

**A/N: DONE! Finally and THANK GOD. Whipped this sucker out in two days. It's honestly not much of a story but again, I'm finishing it for you reviewers out there, thank you so, so much, your kind words and feedback mean the absolute **_**world**_ **to me so for that I thank you.**

**Also, ending is so cheesy I didn't even know I wrote that. **

**XoXo-Contest3ribbon-XoXo**

* * *

**Bonus ending:**

They all crowd behind the curtains and peer on at their two friends. Granted Paul and Brendan turned away as soon as Ash connected his lips with Misty's but everyone was still quite invested in this blossoming romance.

Paul wondered if it was creepy or caring at how invested they were in Misty's personal life, Dawn just dismissed it all and was sure to gush about their new found romance, May was in a similar state and watched on with hearts in her eyes. Meanwhile Kym and Brendan were just thankful they didn't have three older, meddling sisters but were happy nonetheless.

It was Drew however who had something else to say. He was happy for them of course! But…

"So…how about that dinner?"

Daisy, Lily, and Violet responded by giving him a prompt shoving. They'd choose snooping over dinner any day and that's what he was afraid of.


End file.
